Learning ABCs Adorable, Bothersome, Chaotic
by the Klabautermann
Summary: Discord is released from his stone prison for a chance for redemption, but is watched by Twilight Sparkle who wishes to learn more of his powers and himself. Through everyday antics she starts seeing more in the draconequues than meets the eye.
1. How it All came to Be

"So this is it."

"It is, Luna. We put it off for long enough, but it simply can not go on like this."

"I know you are right. That is why I agreed with you, yet... I am afraid."

"There is no reason to be afraid Luna. This is the way it has to be. Otherwise, it'll only hurt more, the more we put it off.

"You're right. Thank you for giving me courage, Tia. Thanks to you...I know everything will end alright."

"I'll always be there for you, dear sister. Now let's go."

The two sisters took a deep breath as they entered a stunningly sterile, well equipped room in one of the Canterlot buildings. An elderly pony with a shiny tooth for a Cutie Mark looked up at his guests and gave them a playful, parenting look.

"Miss Celestia! I was wondering when I will see you two again! Tut, tut, tut, you missed your last check up~ that is no good! You know what they say, a check up twice a year leaves your teeth in no fear!"

"R-right. I'm sorry." Celestia got noticeably uncomfortable as her dentist approached her. When he saw timid Luna hiding behind Celestia though, a dark satisfied grin decorated his face.

"Miss Luna~ I hear you haven't been at the dentist in quite a while! It has been what, a couple hundred years? A millenium? Good grief, let's check those royal teeth of yours!"

Ignoring his obvious lack of tact, the sisters took a deep breath as Luna sat in the dentist seat first, while the dentist searched through his instruments. Then she suddenly addressed Celestia:

"Oh, right! Tia! We are releasing Discord tomorrow, are we not?"

Celestia blinked in confusion before groaning, suddenly frustrated.

"Oh goodness, I completely forgot about that!" she sighed with a small frown. "Seriously, that draconequus can be so bothersome sometimes; even while enchanted in stone."

* * *

><p>"I personally think the Princesses are making a huge mistake."<p>

"Tomorrow? What a sudden decision. But why?"

"They only now cared to inform us? I'm packing my things and getting out of here as soon as possible!"

The whole Equestria was full of such and similar comments, most of the ponies distrusting the idea of letting Discord roam around; even with carefully made plan that was supposed to go smooth - freeing him, stripping him off his powers and giving him one last chance for redemption.

One specific purple pony, though, was excited.

"Twilight, are you insane? How can you possibly look forward to Discord being free again? And YOU of all ponies! I would expect Pinkie Pie to be excited-"

"I AM excited!"

"- my point exactly! But you, Twi? What are you possibly looking forward to, the dancing buffalo?"

"Calm down, Rainbow Dash, I can explain!" Twilight responded, with undoubtedly joyful smile on her face and even sparkier look in her purple eyes. Her friends were over at her place to discuss the big news that shook Equestria, but also to hear something Twilight had to tell them. As she put it, "she had a great surprise" for them.

"You see, there is so~ much I do not know about Discord and his species! I want to learn more about both draconequus species and of Discords' magical powers! He has all kinds of magic I never witnessed before, I just have to write those down!"

Rarity clicked her tongue, but said nothing - she, along with Rainbow Dash was the most against the decision the Princesses made. Dash rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Oh sure, like the Princesses are going to allow you to just stroll around with Discord, question him about his origins and let you two do the magic tricks together - don't you think the Princesses will have their hooves full with him and his stupid antics?"

"I doubt it~" Twilight said in a sing-along voice, as she finally prepared to tell her friends the big news.

"Discord is coming to live with me here in Ponyville! I will be the one taking care of him and making sure he causes no trouble!" Twilight finally informed them all of the big news with the most splendid smile she could pull of.

The short and awkward silence filled the room.

Rarity did her well known dramatic faint, but it was for real this time; Fluttershy lost the power of speech, being unable even to gasp, Pinkie Pie joyfully bounced higher than ever and Applejack joined Rainbow Dash in uttering a single word.

"... what."

"Yes, you see, the Princesses are very busy and would have to take a lot of time of their royal duties to teach Discord our values. So I immediately sent her a letter to tell her I would gladly-"

"WHAT?" Rainbow Dash's voice shook the walls of a quiet library. Spike fell to the floor from the ladders as he was packing some books for Twilight, bringing an avalanche of books with him; Pinkie Pie jerked, with a rather silly sounding scream of surprise leaving her mouth.

"Rainbow Dash, don't yell like that! You made my heart go all pitter-patter." she remarked.

"What's the problem?" Twilight asked, slightly confused; the clueless pony wasn't expecting such a rage outburst.

"What is the p- Twilight, what were you thinking? Discord, here in Ponyville? He's going to cause chaos again! He is going to make our lives a living Hell!" Dash continued, Applejack eagerly confirming her words with a nod of her head. But Twilight just giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Oh come ON guys, the Princesses know better than that! They will take away his powers of course! They worked hard on this ancient spell that allows them to take away his powers while he's weak enough; and he can't get any weaker than being set into stone, right? Even if he decided to cause some trouble, I will be able to easily subdue him with my magic if I need to; Discord will be as tame as a kitten."

"Let's just hope he's not like a certain cat I know." Spike mumbled as he got out of the pile of books, which earned him a stern look from Rarity.

Rainbow Dash was still suspiscious, which Twilight understood; after all, the colorful pegasus was quite fiery when it came to her friends. Twilight had a feeling Dash wanted to get the things between Elements of Harmony and Discord even once and for all, but that chance was taken away from her when the Princesses decided to free him.

"I need your support here guys; I am really, r_eally_ looking forward to this project. I mean who knows, if it goes well with Discord, me might all even become... well... friends."

While Twilight did expect a reaction, the disbelieving looks of her friends kind of hurt. But then, to everypony's surprise, Fluttershy stepped out and quietly said:

"Twilight is right. Maybe Discord should get another chance now that we showed him the power of Harmony, even if he was a meanie. After all, every living creature should get their chance to ask for forgiveness."

Twilight nodded happily, not understanding how she could for even a second doubt that Fluttershy will help her; the Element of Kindness was on its full display as Fluttershy promised Twilight to be there with her.

"Well, I suppose we could try and hope that brute turns into more or less of a proper gentleman. As long as his powers are restrained, of course." Rarity finally gave in. Applejack shrugged.

"Twi, Ah sure do not like what yer doin' but Ah guess I'll have to trust ya. Yer my friend after all, and Ah'll support ya all the way." she finished with a smile.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and threw her hooves into the air, resigning.

"Being the Element of Loyalty, I suppose you guys know what my opinion is." she sighed, ostensibly annoyed, but not being capable of hiding a small smile.

* * *

><p>"Good day, Elements of Harmony. What a lovely day for a walk, is it not?" Celestia started, her sister shaking her head.<p>

"It is an honor to see you all again." Luna spoke, trying to keep the things looking at least half serious as they entered the royal gardens of Canterlot.

The mane six and the royal Princesses soon stood before the Discord's statue, alone. They decided what they were doing here wasn't a circus show, so the entrance into the palace gardens was forbidden that day; apart from the several Canterlot guards, they were the only ponies around.

"Did you bring the Elements? Oh good, let's get this over with nice and quick." Celestia said almost lazily. Luna hoofpalmed, and Twilight shared confused looks with her friends.

"Princess Celestia, forgive me for saying this but... you seem almost careless about this." Twilight said what all of her friends were thinking.

Celestia sighed.

"Well truth to be told, this whole matter IS taking up a whole lot of my time. I was supposed to be drinking tea with a Prince next-country at this time, but I had to re-schedule! I was just telling Luna how bothersome Discord can be even while in stone yesterday! I totally did say that; did I not, Luna?"

"She totally did." Luna replied shorty, seemingly playful, but shooting Twilight and the team an apologetic look.

It was luck Celestia didn't notice the looks on ponies' faces, because if she did and asked them about it, she probably wouldn't get a nice response.

"Well then, let's get down to business. Elements, please stand around the statue; once I activate the spell, you have to concentrate, so be attentive."

The mane six silently listened as they surrounded Discord's statue. Twilight was facing its front, staring straight into those petrified, terrified eyes. His hands extended before him, in defensive posture, his mouth stuck in an eternal shriek of fear. Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit happy for releasing him; being stuck in the stone probably wasn't a nice experience. She wondered what will his reaction be when he realizes he is powerless for the first time in his life.

The circle of light surrounded them all, with Celestia and Luna guiding the magical power as it intertwined between the Elements. They all closed their eyes and concentrated on the energy that flew through them. A blinding light covered the garden and a mystical wind nearly threw the ponies out of balance, but they stood firm and strong. And then a high pitched sounds of spell doing its job.

For a few moments nothing but pure white light was visible, the spell done, hum of the remaining magical force still heard in the air.

The light disappeared, with nothing but soft mist surrounding them all. The statue was gone, instead of it visible a familiar tall silhouette of a draconequus, towering triumphally over them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Molestia, Lunnie and the Hellements of Armory. What a lucky encounter!" Discord watched over them victoriously, apparently not realizing what had just been done to him. Celestia smiled politely to him.

"I must say, your stone-enhancing spell is getting weaker and weaker dear Elements. I broke out with literally no effort at all. Maybe you should enhance each other in stone for practice." he finished darkly.

"Hello there Discord. It is good to see you again, regarding the circumstances. You seem quite giddy for someone who has just lost all of their powers."

"Lost my powers? Me? Celestia, deary,as much as I like the fact your sense of humor is back after all these years, you need to work on it a little bit more. Well, a lot more, to be honest." the draconequus grinned as he snapped his fingers confidently, expecting to be on the other side of Equestria in the mater of seconds.

Twilight carefully studied Discord's face as it changed slowly from victorious grin, to a confused frown, to rapid blinking as realization hit him, and finally to a panicked grimace worthy of a photo.


	2. First Evening of Chaos and Chess

"Well, say hi to your new home!" Twilight let the still slightly distraught draconequus enter the library the way he hadn't entered a room in years - through the door.

After Discord caused quite a commotion that even demanded the guards to come in and restrain him (Celestia was far too busy putting on her Trollface to be keeping him in order), the Princesses explained the whole situation to him; Celestia seemingly enjoying it far more than she expected. Discord spent the next two days with them in Canterlot Castle, being explained the reason for his release (to which he responded mostly by 'gag' jokes) and being told of his one chance for redemption - in general, Celestia and Luna both tried their best to convince the draconequus to at least try and behave; meanwhile, he was trying to get used to the fact that at the moment he was nothing more but the regular citizen of Equestria.

The draconequus hasn't spoken much since then, mostly pondering about his situation or pouting; which Fluttershy couldn't help but point out as 'cute'. Without his powers, he was no more but a regular pony... dragon... thingy. Magically speaking, that silly purple egghead alone was stronger than him; he wouldn't lie, his pride was wounded heavily.

Meanwhile, the mane six spent most of the time discussing the means and methods they should incorporate to at least partially open his mind to possibilities of being... well... less chaotic. Which definitely wasn't going to be an easy task.

Once again, Rainbow Dash was angrily targeting Twilight with questions, seemingly the only one who remained as equally fired up. They were sitting in Twilight's beloved Donut Shop, eating peacefully, when Dash suddenly brought the topic up, making both Rarity and Applejack sigh of boredom; they went through the discussion a dozen of time, all of them agreeing on doing their best to help Twilight, but Rainbow Dash just didn't want to give up.

"Twilight, do you_ seriously believe_ there is a possibility of Discord living even a _single_ day without causing trouble to someone? Even without his powers, that guy lives for causing chaos and torturing ponies!"

"Rainbow Dash, our goal is not to change Discord to be a completely new person! I don't want to make him miserable by making him be someone who he doesn't want to be. Besides, I doubt we could do that even if we wanted to." she finished, taking another bite of her donut.

"But I do believe even he is a person like we all are - be it a spirit of Harmony, Disharmony or something third, that does not define who we are."

"Seems like an exact opposite to me!"

"That still does not prove that he doesn't have a soul. I am of firm belief Discord is capable of more positive emotions, like us."

"Oh, me too" Fluttershy added "I'm sure Discord is in fact not as mean as he acts... well, at least not _all_ the time." she smiled timidly.

Pinkie suddenly giggled. "If he heard you two right now, he would totally say 'gag~ spare me of your cutesy words', or something like that!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Yeah, he would, wouldn't he?"

"Oh please!" Rainbow finally gave up - for now - and angrily dug into her donut, crumbling all over the table and floor on displeasure of Pony Joe.

Once the Princesses decided they told and did everything they could for Discord to get used to his new state, Twilight, her friends and the still displeased Spirit took a train back, which left their whole wagon empty for themselves - everypony was still afraid of the draconequus, despite him now being as dangerous as Fluttershy's bunny, Angel.

The ride was silent, apart from Pinkie Pies' constant randomized rambling; Rainbow Dash was stubbornly staring at Discord, who either did a very good job of ignoring her, or had a genuine interest in the Sun bathed mountains as he was staring out the window. Twilight knew Dash was dying to try and pick a fight with the Spirit, so she was thankful Discord didn't seem particularly interested in anyone around him. Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked eager to try and communicate with him, but probably was discouraged by his disinterest in anyone right now; so she found amusement in a quiet discussion with Rarity. Applejack fell asleep moments after the train moved.

They all bid each other farewell as the train stopped in Ponyville, though Rainbow couldn't resist but to yell out: "If you do anything to Twi, you'll have to deal with me!" before the two started towards the library.

Even while they were walking through the city the streets were rapidly becoming empty, everypony hiding into the safety of their homes. The few that were brave enough to stay outside could barely muster up the courage to look at him. Discord got noticeably better once he scared one of them by simply uttering "rawr". Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Do you have to do that?"

"It makes me happy." DIscord snapped. "Why don't you just take that away from me too?"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say another word.

And now here he was, seemingly depressed and moping around the library.

As she observed the upset draconequus crashing over her couch, Twilight couldn't help but think she didn't quite think this through; the part where she was supposed to teach him of the values of Harmony was fine, but what about her personal research? Whoever would guarantee the draconequus would tell her anything? Especially in that kind of mood.

With a corner of her eye, she saw Spike entering the room, and with a wave of her hoof gestured for him to come closer, then pointed to Discord. Spike only then noticed the Spirit moping in their couch and, surprisingly, laughed. He started speaking, loud enough for her only to hear:

"Don't be too easy on him Twilight. I too will help ya - I can teach him how to clean, pffhahah!"

"Shh, don't say that in front of him!"

"Why, he could make an awesome assistant, heh; even though your one and only assistant is enough, hehe... right?" he added in the end with a certain dose of questioning. Twilight snorted.

"It's Discord we're talking about here. The absolute opposite of what I love above all - organization. There is no WAY I'm letting him touch my books."

She had to admit though - after all of his confident, arrogant remarks, with his peculiar gift for showmanship, seeing him actually being genuinely upset was kind of both funny and sad at the same time. Getting from the position in which he was practically a demigod to the rank of a regular citizen of Equestria... yeah, for somepony as proud and confident as him, it was probably a shock.

Nevertheless, she could not give up! She was determined to try her best to befriend the mismatched Spirit and teach him the ways of the pony citizenship.

"So Discord, umm, are you hungry perhaps?... Can I get you anything?... How are you feeling?"

The last question seemed to have attracted draconequus' attention, because he very abruptly sat up, slithered over the couch in a somewhat threatening manner and stood before her. As he towered over Twilight, she could easily see just how the Spirit was feeling, her half polite and half nervous smile still lingering on her face.

"How am I feeling, Twilight Sparkle? Let me tell you how, dear; you released the most powerful spirit of the entire world out of the cold stone prison and reduced Him the the likes of you!" he pointed one of his lion fingers at her chest, harshly poking her.

"I used to be Discord, the powerful Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos! Without my power I am- well, I don't even know what I am! I know that I'm bored out of my wits, though! " he dramatically raised his hand to his forehead, much like Rarity did sometimes; Twilight decided he needed a new title to make him feel better about himself. One more down-to-earth.

"You're~ Discord the~ um, Mismatched... Dragon?" she tried with a silly grin.

He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, and then started laughing abruptly; Twilight gave away an embarrassed smile.

"You're such an interesting character, Twilight Sparkle. Wherever did you get an idea I would be fine with being titled as such a violent and undignified creature like a dragon?"

"Hey!" Spike frowned.

"Well, _SORRY_ if I offended your majesty." Twilight replied, heavy on the sarcasm. With a vengeful smirk, Discord suddenly snapped his fingers. For a moment even Twilight believed something was going to happen - alas, it did not. Darkness fell over Discord's eyes, his smirk gone as fast as it came. After snapping away his magical deeds through many years, it would take him a long time to get used to not being able to use them anymore.

"Spike. Please go and prepare the dinner." Twilight said in somewhat thin voice. With a corner of her eye she noticed a purple tail disappearing in the kitchen. When did Spike get so fast on those short legs of his?

Discord sighed heavily.

"Oh, cheer up Discord! - after dinner, we're starting your first lesson of the 'How to be a good Neighbor' by Mare Sue! It'll be fun!"

"Oh joy. Why don't you decorate my mane with daisies and polish my talons while you're at it." the Spirit dragged himself into the kitchen, attracted by the strong smell of pancakes. Twilight followed slowly, thinking things through with a self satisfied smile.

_Well, he won't be able to just poof on me while I'm giving him a lesson, and he doesn't have anything else to do anyway. This will be a piece of cake._

* * *

><p>"So, to<strong> finally<strong> conclude the first lesson, the society dictates that one should always follow some of the most basic rules of the etiquette the society made, to be accepted into the said socie-"

"Oh sweet powers of Chaos, please stop, I can't stand this anymore!"

"For the last time, Discord, don't interrupt me while I'm speaking!"

"Listening to you reading that book is the most boring thing I've _ever_ had the chance of hearing!"

"It is fun!"

"It's BORING."

Approximately fifteen minutes after the dinner, Twilight was trying to get the very short first lesson of the extremely boring book into Discord's head - needless to say, boredom won, and the Spirit ended up rolling around on the floor and sitting upside down on the sofa. As they started arguing, the two ended up eyeing each other dangerously, an inch apart from each others face.

"You. Are going to LIKE this book." Twilight hissed through gritted teeth.

"I detest it." the draconequus hissed back.

"You're going to read it, and you're going to follow its teachings."

"I will burn it the moment a chance occurs."

Twilight was nearly growling.

"Why can't you just sit down and be attentive for more than five minutes!" the purple pony yelled out in frustration.

"For the 12th time, I'm bored out of my mind!" Discord yelled back desperately; the look in his eyes was enough for Twilight to realize that the Spirit's energy was disappearing rapidly because of the book they were trying to read. Was it really such an effort to listen to a single lesson? While it was a bit amusing to see him acting so much like a regular pony, it still didn't make her any less angry. **Nopony **was insulting her books without consequences.

"If" Discord continued, "I'm already forced to learn to be a 'good neighbor~' " he threw on a mocking voice as he pronounced the words he detested so much, "I am pretty sure there is a better way to learn such things."

"UGH. FINE." Twilight groaned as she finally gave up and put the book away. She sighed, lost as to what she should do next to-

"How about we play a game?" she suddenly heard Discord saying. Twilight was prepared to tell him this was no time for games, but she figured she would just be torturing him if she kept insisting on him learning stuff he didn't find too interesting.

"A game, you say... Wait. What kind of game?" Twilight asked suspiciously, her eyebrow arching. "I'm not goinf to be pulled into any kind of brain washing or pranking game of yours, thank you very much."

"I like to think I'm above that." Discord replied with feigned innocence. "No, I meant chess."

"Chess? **You** want to play what is unfortunately so commonly know as the 'nerdiest and most boring game ever'? If you considered that book boring, chess will kill you." she added with disapproval.

"Ah, but there is a twist to it, naturally! Plain ol' chess can be so boring."

"Ha! I knew it." Twilight was ready to reject, but then she saw an sparkly glint in Discord's eyes; it reminded her of herself whenever she was about to do something she loved. His playful smile and hopeful eyes were another distracting factor. Resignedly, she she took a breath.

"OK,** fine**."

Discord joyfully shook his fists and snapped his fingers wanting to summon a chess board. Twilight couldn't help but laugh at his face expression as he once more committed an unfortunate mistake.

"Don't worry, I have one. I'll be right back." as Twilight went to her bedroom to get the chess board, Discord followed her movements carefully, thinking. The pony seemed so relaxed around him, as if he were a regular guest. This maybe won't be that bad. Well of course, losing his powers is horrible, but there was not much he could do about it. A little more down-to-earth relaxation might be nice.

"So, what is this twist you were talking about?"

"Well, the basics are the same - one of us is white or black, whoever _checkmates_ the king, loses. But, each turn the figures are changing roles."

"Changing roles? What do you mean?"

"Every figure will take on the role of the next one - the roles will be circulating. Like a clock. Pawns included." he added in the end, making himself sound like he was selling a deal. Twilight shook her head in disbelief.

"But that sounds so needlesly complicated! How will I remember which pieces are which? And the pawns? I mean, I could probably remember which is which knight, or bishop, but there are eight pawns! It will be a complete, total, absolute-"

"-Chaos?" Discord clued in gleefully. Twilight stared at him, at loss for words.

"Sounds pretty fun, doesn't it?"

"It will be impossible to play, I can't remember all of the-"

"Don't tell me you're not smart enough for such a simple addition of a rule to the game?" the draconequus suddenly asked, seemingly innocently, but with obvious intentions of mocking the purple mare. That self satisfied grin said it all.

Oh, it was on. The challenge Discord offered made Twilight burn with the passion of an egghead.

"Let's play, Discord." she challenged back with a smirk.

* * *

><p>"It was a<em> queen<em>, Discord!"

"A bishop, dear!"

"I am so sure it was a queen!"

"Oh fine, then; I'll be a gentleman - let it be a queen."

"Heheheh~"

"But now your supposed-to-be queen of your next move is **captured**!"

"Nononono**nonooooo**~ Awww, how could I have_ missed_ that!"

"Your turn, dear!"

"... that would make my next piece a bishop then... right?"

"You got it!"

"**Bam~boozled**! Got my queen back!"

"How could I have missed that?"

"Haha, I said the same thing just now!"

"Right, you did! Hahahaha~!"

"Hahaaha~!"

It was well past bedtime. The two were still playing a chaotic chess game, getting closer, but still well on their way to ending the game, crying tears of laughter, constantly arguing about which piece was which and pretty much goofing around with the game play of chess at this point. Spike was sound asleep, despite the thundering laughter that shook the house during the whole evening.

If he were awake right now, he would probably be surprised; Twilight Sparkle never laughed so much, so hard and so delightful in a single evening.


	3. Priceless Battle of Pranks

To anyone not understanding just what the Hell is Discord singing as they are flying towards the sky (lol) ... listen to this amazing song: [url=.com/watch?v=jDMGv3hNMes]Discords' Theme[/url]

That song partially inspired this chapter. Only partially. :D

* * *

><p>The Sun was shyly peeking from behind the hills when Twilight Sparkle woke up. Her bed never felt so uncomfortable for some reason. Then she realized why that was.<p>

She was in a sitting position, with her head laid upon the chess board from the last night. One of the pawns was stabbing her cheek. As she raised her head, the mentioned piece remained stuck on her skin for a little while, before falling down on the board and producing a small clacking noise; leaving a somewhat painful sensation on her face. The warm blanket over her back slipped quietly to the floor.

She slowly got up and stretched, then felt a bit of pain in her neck, but managed to get it to leave after stretching out every muscle. It took her a few moments to realize Discord wasn't there.

For a moment she panicked, imagining he must've escaped and was already causing chaos around the Ponyville, if not all of Equestria - then she recalled the whole reason why draconequues even lived with her.

"Uh, what time is it anyway?" she asked to herself quietly. The old clock informed her it was still a bit early. She concluded she could let Spike sleep a little bit longer, then headed to the bathroom to freshen herself up.

What a surprise was awaiting for her though as she looked herself in the mirror - there, on the forehead of her own reflection, with perfectly fine handwriting, she saw a small message:

_Be right back!_ it was written mirrored, like he knew she was gong to check herself in the mirror. Twilight noticed with some distress he drew a small heart next to it. Charming. Just charming.

"Oh, that silly-..." annoyed, Twilight mumbled to herself as she tried to wash away the ink on her forehead. Even a bigger surprise was the fact she couldn't remove it no matter what she tried.

"You have **got** to be kidding me!" she growled, and finally gave up . Her bangs were covering most of it anyway. Once he came back, she would demand it taken off.

Thinking of it, where in the world could he be, anyway?

The answer came with the very loud sound of door opening and closing, as well as the sound of Discord's over the top maniacal laughter. Not wanting to know what happened, yet thinking she better gets it over with, Twilight descended down to face an interesting scene: Discord was looking through the window, apparently hiding from someone; the interesting thing was him carrying a few empty glass bottles, something that seemed to be a somewhat old and very long garland messily wrapped around him body and an ink marker behind his ear. Probably the very same one he scribbled the message on her forehead with. He was giggling like a small child, overly happy with whatever he had done.

Whatever it was, she probably wasn't going to like it.

"Discord." she addressed him sternly, apparently surprising the Spirit as the bottles nearly feel from his hands.

"Good morning, Twilight Sparkle! And a wonderfully trouble bringing morning it is!"

"...Discord, what have you done?"

Discord gave her the most innocent look he could produce.

"Now, why ever would you think I did something?"

"Well, putting aside the obvious," Twilight eyed the stuff Discord had with him, as well as the at the moment much hated marker, "your over-the-top happiness can never be a good sign."

"You had no problem with my happiness last night, if I recall right." Discord noticed, then got back to spying through the window.

Twilight couldn't help herself - the fact he just told her he was happy last night, which led to logical conclusion that he enjoying himself spending time with her made her whole morning a dozen times better. She smiled sheepishly.

"Right. But then you weren't pranking neighbors, or whatever you're doing."

"You guessed it dear; the whole Ponyville shall once again suffer the chaotic deeds of mine!"

He turned triumphantly to Twilight, his talon finger pointing at her in an extremely dramatic way; but allover he obvously had the intention of looking interesting.

"The fact my powers are gone doesn't mean a thing to me anymore! I, Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony will never give up at giving the citizens of Ponyville and anyone else the piece of chaos and disturbance this boring little town needs!"

The Spirit gleefully and swiftly flew into her kitchen, leaving the quite stunned purple pony alone to think. Despite the fact Discords' words shoud've worried her, Twilight felt a b it impressed. She knew the chaos he was going to produce wasn't going to be nearly as dangerous like before, and he couldn't really do much outside Ponyville. But still, he wasn't giving up; completely stripped of powers, brought to the level he deemed unworthy at first, yet keep on doing what he loved the most in his chaotic life. Sadly. And she was supposed to change that.

Somehow, it seemed more challenging than before.

"Oh, I shouldn't be thinking like that!" Twilight shook her head violently. "Ugh, don't give up Twilight! After all, you have a lot of time ahead of you. Your time with Discord has just begun!" she followed the Spirit into the kitchen, and wished she didn't. Its ceiling was decorated with garland Discord brought in. It would be that bad if he didn't decide to spray the whole thing with an old can of fake snow.

"Ugh."

"I think it's a nice touch, for a start. Really pops out of the usually monotone decor. But it needs some radiant color. Like red."

"Where did you get that thing anyway?"

"I pulled it out of some house."

"WHAT?"

"Oh right, I have to tell you this one; so there I was, sitting on this pony's window, preparing to throw a pot in front of some stallion that was walking right underneath, and I notice, window is ajar! So I sneaked in and slowly and quietly woke up the somepony in their bed - you should've seen that look on that mares' face, oh my!" The Spirit bent in half and fell to the floor laughing.

"You broke into someone's house?"

"I visited." he corrected without delay, still laughing. "And I rid them of this old thing. Seriously, why was that thing hanging in there, anyway?"

"Discord! You broke in and stole! That is punishable by law- why in the hay am I even telling you that, you know it well!"

He snorted as he flew into the air and circled around her joyfully, mocking her:

"Oooh~ I am such a criminal, aren't I? What are you going to do - take me to the officers of law and lock me up?"

* * *

><p>"I can not believe you took me to the officers of law and had me locked up."<p>

Twilight didn't waste a moment of time bringing Discord to justice - or in this case, putting him into detention, locking him up for a few hours, then coming to pick him up, purely to teach him just how are those things punishable here; but there was a limited amount of time she could feel alright with leaving Discord to scare anyone he could in the station. By the time she came back, the Spirit was wailing out of boredom in his cell and the guards were pretty much terrified.

"That cell was even more **boring** than your library, if that is possible."

"Then that will be your first valuable lesson, I suppose - no stealing and no breaking in." Twilight told him off, much like a parent would.

The Spirit groaned in frustration. The two kept on walking for some time, and Twilight realized they weren't heading home. This could be a nice opportunity for a talk, and maybe learning something about him.

"While we're outside, why don't we go for a walk? If you're alright with it, of course."

"Actually, a magnificent guy such as me prefers more magnificent means of a 'walk'."

"...Meaning?"

"I would rather go flying."

"...If you plan on running away, I swear-"

"Even if I did my dear, without my powers, it would be meaningless. No, what I had in mind..." he laid his lion paw gently on her back, and gave her a very significant look, "was both of us going for a fly."

It took Twilight one horrifying moment to realize what he was talking about, and it was already too late to run away.

"Discord, **no**. No, no, no nononoNONO, NOOO!" her words fell on deaf ears as the draconequues picked her up with no trouble at all and placed her on his back; with the very short warning to hold tight he flew swiftly into the air with surprising speed that made her squeeze his slim body tighter. As he started twirling, spinning and going incredibly fast, Twilight started to shriek.

"**DISCOOORD**!"

"_I'm howlin' at the moon,_

_and sleepin' in the middle of a summer afternoon~_"

"WHAT?"

"Oh, nothing dear~"

They kept going up and higher at amazing speed, that Twilight knew was enough to at the least match the speed of Rainbow Dash. They were rising towards the cloudy sky and soon found themselves in the thick white cloudy mist. And then, the blinding power of the Sun.

Twilight blinked a couple of times, temporarily blinded, and felt the body of the draconequues slow down. They finally stopped, but she realized she didn't dare to open her eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, what in the world are you doing with your eyes closed? Your lack of interest disappoint me."

"We're even higher than the Cloudsdale altitude; I'm kind of nervous, if you don't mind." Twilight responded automatically, both annoyed by the fact he thought this was perfectly alright and pretty frightened of falling down.

She heard the draconequues sigh.

"As you wish; I'll enjoy the view by myself then."

"T-the view?"

He didn't respond, and Twilight couldn't take it anymore; she opened her eyes and loudly gasped, which drew a wise smile on Discord's face.

Up, the endless pastel blue sky, with Sun in such stunningly clear vision. Looking at it made Twilight feel dizzy. Below and onwards, a white, fluffy sea of misty clouds, moving slowly and carelessly. Twilight never went so high above it all, above the whole world. It surprised her there was little to no wind up here. And the silence. Such an amazing, barely at all disturbed silence.

The view got her literally speechless as she kept looking around, constantly searching for a sign of Ponyville or the tips of the forest, or anything remotely connected to the earth. Her mind was taking her flying across the endless sea of clouds, far away to the white and blue horizon...

"You've fallen unusually silent, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight blinked, finding herself once again on the back of the draconequues. She didn't even notice until now he descended on one of the idle small clouds that got away from its fluffy herd.

"I... I'm just... wow." her astonishment made him chuckle.

She gently stooped down from his back to the fluffy surface - walking on them was the weirdest sensation ever, far different than the the clouds on Cloudsdale.

"Wow, this is so weird."

"I find it quite comfy."

"Hmm, I guess. It would be so hard to sleep on these, they are too soft."

The two once again fell silent for a moment, and Twilight wondered if this is how the Spirit of Disharmony spent his time relaxing. Then again, it was way too... serene and peaceful up here. Or in Discord's terms, boring. He probably just wanted to stretch his wings.

Then she suddenly felt a soft poke on her forehead. The draconequues' lion paw was gently touching her forehead, an unusual smile over his face.

"Huh? What are you-"

She felt being pushed backwards, towards the edge of the cloud.

"WHAT THE HAY? DISCO-KYAAA!"

The purple pony stood on the very edge now, feeling like she might slip from the cloud at any second, with Discord's finger still on her forehead, as gentle as before. The very amused draconequues stiffed a laugh.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, **stop it**!"

"Oh dear, the look on your face is a memory I'll treasure forever!" the draconequues snickered, still not letting her return her balance.

"I'm going to FALL!"

"I'm not pushing you any further, now am I?"

"Discoooord~" Twilight whined, half annoyed, half terrified by the actions of a teasing draconequues. She was sure to a certain degree that he wouldn't let her fall, but that didn't make the sensation of being dangerously near falling any less scary.

"Oh please cut the whining, you're sounding like the rock obsessed fashionista."

"It's Rarity!"

"Rarity-Schmarity, I don't care." the Spirit stared at her in amusement, but then squinted. Twilight watched with a decent amount of tension how he leaned in and looked at her face, then used his talons to remove the mane of her forehead. Twilight frowned as the Spirit bit his lip and once more started snickering.

"What?"

"You never removed that ink message from your forehead. Am I really that dear to you?"

"Hah-oh-HAH. I can't, nothing works."

"It is pretty ironic for you to have a "be right back" written on your forehead while you're an inch or two away from falling to your demise."

The purple unicorn was moments away from whimpering.

"Perhaps, if you apologize for 'bringing me to justice', I might consider not letting you fall down.

"Yeah, as if you would do such a-" Twilight watch with widened eyes as the Spirit got into a slightly more comfortable position, his finger still lazily lingering on her forehead - and then gently pushed forward again.

"KYAAA! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, OK? OH DEAR CELESTIA!"

The panicked shrieks of the unicorn and her very unique facial expression were the last straw for the draconequues; he bent over as he once again started laughing maniacally, allowing the frightened unicorn to regain her balance. Twilight scooted over to the middle of the cloud, breathing rapidly and glaring at the amused Spirit.

"You-!" she let her instinct take over her, and pushed Discord strongly with her front hooves; a push she gave too much strength it would appear, as it sent the still laughing draconequues over the cloud edge. She gasped.

"Wai-No, Discord!" she looked down into the cloudy sea, but to her surprise the Spirit was gone, and his laughter had died. Could it be possible he fell all the way down bellow? What if he didn't succeed in catching the wind properly, and isn't able to fly? What if he...

Twilight's heart was probably the loudest thing above the clouds at that point. She was about to call for him once again, sheer panic taking over her, her legs trembling and her eyes growing wet...

"BOO!"

"EEEK! You jerk!"

"Pffffhahahahhahaah!" The spirit slithered from underneath the cloud where he was hiding, laughing even louder than before. Twilight felt tired. The morning pranks, whole ride into the sky and Discords antics wore her out more than she expected. She laid down and burried her face into her bent legs.

"Aww, come on, Twilight Sparkle, it is all in good chaotic fun."

"This is just too much for me." Twilight noticed with heavy heart, her voice half cracking and half giggling.

The spirit merely shrugged and sat peacefully on the cloud. The sudden silence made her suspicious, so she glanced at him. The sight of the mismatched Spirit staring at the horizon with a certain dose of thinking was weird.

"What are you doing?" she asked, which sounded kind of stupid seeing as he wasn't actually doing anything; but Discord seemed to have understood what she was trying to ask.

"Sometimes, back when I was still roaming free, I liked to come up here..."

_Oh, he's actually saying why? What could it be?_

"... just sit back..."

_Relax? Think? Have some place to be alone and confront his true feelings?_

"... and imagine what would it be like to turn the sky, clouds and earth upside down for one day!"

_Huh?_

"Just imagine!" the ambitious Spirit turned to her, eyeing her with half crazy look in his eyes.

"Walking on the firm limited sky, with sea of clouds above you and endless earth above them! Makes no sense at all! Vertigo! Vertigo everywhere!" he laughed again on the thought of distraught ponies living through such a hellish day. Twilight frowned.

"So how come you didn't do that already?"

Discord waved his hand dismissively.

"N'aw, that's impossible; even for a once incredibly powerful and still extremely handsome guy such as I am."

_What does 'being handsome" have to do with that, anyway? _

"I do demand a certain amount of power to change the laws of Nature that much. If I ever tried something that senseless though, it would probably destroy me."

"Really?" Twilight asked with interest, realizing she was getting information she so deeply wanted.

"So, where else are the limits of your magical power lay?"

"Hmm, it is hard to say." Draconequues replied lazily, apparently thinking it through.

"The hardest spell I ever performed involved- what are you doing?"

"Huh? Nothing." Twilight tried to unsuccessfully hide the parchment and quill she summoned moments ago. Discord arched an eyebrow.

"You're an outstanding student of magic Twilight Sparkle, but your lying skills are terrible. Leave it to your friend Liarjack." he grinned as he swiftly stole the parchment from behind her back. As he read what was on the paper, his face changed from minor curiosity to a surprised smile.

"Aww, I feel honored! I am a research item!"

"Give it back!" Twilight tried to grab the parchment from the fingers of now standing Spirit, but he kept her away with his hand.

"Hmm, you really don't have much info on me, now do you, honorary protege of Celestia."

Twilight finally used her magic to banish the quill and her research back to her home.

"Tsk, so cheap." the Spirit scolded.

"What I research is none of your business!" Twilight replied a bit more snobbishly than she intended to. The Spirit chuckled, eyeing her curiously.

"Well it does if I am the one being researched; for such a fine, study-dedicated and rational pony, I would've thought you'd ask me directly instead of twisting your words around such a simple question."

Twilight didn't quite know what to say; truth to be told, she didn't expect him to be so blunt about it. In fact, for some reason, she thought he might be mad about her doing a research on him. But Discord seemed anything but angry - proud, flattered even.

"...Ah-I..." a slightly awkward silence filled the air.

"Let us go back, I am starving. That assistant of yours had better made us some dinner." he picked her up, and she knew what was next.

"Y-You know, I could use the transportation spell-" she didn't even finish her question properly and he already held her in his hands, but decided not to carry her on his back. He just held her like a puppy, facing away from him.

"Aren't you going to carry me on your back at least? _Please?_"

"Oh, but this way, I'll get to see that_ **priceless**_ facial expression of yours again!"

"Discord no, NO NOOO~"

And with those words, the spirit clutched firmly the poor unicorn's body and dived into the clouds below, offering Celestia's student an excellent view on the ground she felt like she was going to hit very soon. She couldn't contain a shriek of both fear and joy.

* * *

><p>"All done! Hope Discord likes daisy sandwiches- then again, what do I care? He can eat dirt as far as I'm asked." Spike was in the middle of setting up the table, having indeed made the dinner for the two of them; he already had his portion of gems. Just as he was done with serving the sandwiches, the library door opened to reveal very happy-go-lucky Spirit and pretty worn out Twilight.<p>

"Oh hello Twilight! Discord. "he added, a bit less enthusiastic. "The dinner is serve- Twilight? What's wrong? And what is that on your forehead?" Spike had to ask upon seeing her somewhat messed up mane and the somewhat visible scribbles around her horn.

"Oh, hi Spike. Don't worry, nothing is wrong; I just had a really... well.. chaotic day." the tired unicorn smiled softly.

"I'm _so_ glad to be of service, dear." Discord bowed slightly as he offered her a pen that seemed to be an eraser, resulting in her rolling her eyes, but smiling only even wider. Why were his words making her smile, she had no idea.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Seriously Twilight, if you're going to keep him around here, he actually could do something to help after all; now that you're busy with him, I have more work to do than ever." the dragon commented before climbing upstairs into the bedroom.

Twilight thought of Spike's idea, but could tell by the look on Discord's face he wasn't ready to do such things; or better told, he was unwilling.

"Oh, was today a fun day - your every shriek and every prank I play on you have been more satisfying by themselves than pranking any number of ponies; probably because you're usually so collected."

"You're so mean." Twilight responded as she finished removing the marker traces of her forehead.

"I am Discord. Deal with it."

Twilight didn't say anything; not until a sudden realization came to her. The purple unicorn smiled happily as she stood up from the table, finishing her meal and heading slowly towards the second floor.

"No, I don't think you're that mean actually, now that I think about it."

Discord stared at her in disbelief; judging by his face he was either deeply hurt or merely shocked.

"Of course I am! I am the-"

"This morning, I found a blanket over my back. Spike was already asleep by then and wasn't getting up during the night. Which leaves you." The suddenly upset Spirit was seemingly trying to find the right words to reply, but he didn't say anything. She got up and gently nuzzled his lion paw, which pretty much terrified him. "That is so sweet of you." she gave him a cute smile.

Discord stood so still that she might as well have concluded he became a statue again. The expression on his face was... absolutely and totally...

"**_Priceless._**" a single word left Twilight's lips as she went upstairs to her bed, leaving the utterly baffled Discord to cure his boredom however he could for the rest of the evening.


	4. Lesson Laughter

"Discord... what in the world?"

"What? I'm not doing anything."

"Well that is precisely what concerns me. You haven't been doing anything for a while now."

Two days passed since that exciting flight to the cloudy heights, during which Twilight felt like she really started to get along with Discord. Knowing the Spirit was usually up for anything but activities that included the everyday normality, she was kind of excited about what might they do next during their time together.

So it was quite an unpleasant development of the situation when the draconequues started doing nothing. He spent the whole yesterday mostly lounging around the library, sleeping on the roof and would occasionally leave to stretch his wins. Each time, Twilight would warn him not to cause any trouble; each time she also hoped he would, because that would mean he got back to his chaotic old self. Alas, he did not.

"Hmm, really?" the Spirit observed his talons as if they were the most interesting thing in the room at that moment.

Discord the Chaotic became Discord the Melancholic.

Another thing that particularly hurt her was that just the other day, she was out with her friends on a picnic, telling them all how nicely they started go get along, despite the Spirits' mischievousness. The satisfaction she got from seeing a surprised expression of Rainbow Dash was huge, but she kept that bit of information for herself, not wanting to rub it into her face.

"Well who would've known. Maybe Discord ain' so bad as we thought." Applejack was the first to lighten up upon hearing the news.

"I, I guess so." Fluttershy decided to state her opinion, shy as always.

"Who knows, maybe he realized that making troubles isn't all he can do to have fun."

"But, dearie, are you sure that maybe, just maybe that ruffian isn't fooling around with you? Men can be so deceiving sometimes." Rarity suggested, recalling her very uncharming meeting with Prince Blueblood.

"No way, I'm sure he's being sincere with me; I do believe Discord always liked being blunt about things. He would have nothing to gain from lying to me anyway."

"Oh Twilight. I'm SO glad he's our friend now, because that means that I can throw him a party! Discord still didn't have a welcome party! There will be dance music and presents for him and he loves the chocolate milk and cotton candy, so I definitely need to make him the best chocolate milk ever, and-"

"Pinkie, Pinkie! Calm down, "Twilight started gently, smiling a bit nervously, "I don't think he considers us to be that much of friends yet. I mean, he even still glares at me whenever I use my magical powers. Give him time."

"Oh, okie dokie!" the pink pony bounced up and down, fullfilled with expectations of a bright future full of parties where Discord could enjoy her home made chocolate milk.

Twilight sighed as she remembered Pinkie's happy expression; she was so excited to be friend with someone who loved pranks and laughter as much as she did; even though that someone turned Ponyville into the Chaotic center of Equestria for one full day.

"Come on now, something is obviously wrong. A full day passed, and I didn't once end up with my posterior glued to my seat; nor did my books mix up so the first letter of their title would spell some... indecency."

The Spirit chuckled.

"That was a good one."

"Come on, Discord! Tell me," she sat next to him, "what's wrong?"

He was obviously annoyed by her, she could see that; but she could also see he knew she wasn't about to let this matter go. With a resigning sigh, the Spirit sat up on, at the moment his favorite couch, and lazily looked her in the eyes.

"Oh let's see, I don't know, I guess I just miss something from my life." he finally answered, though with an amount of bitterness and sarcasm she didn't hear from him before.

"Miss something from your life? What do you- Oh." Twilight's hopes immediately sank. The depressed draconequues was obviously talking about his once available powers. Well, she wasn't that surprised; if she suddenly lost her horn and all of her abilites, she would be pretty upset - pretty much like the time she and her friends went into the labyrinth; but that was only temporarily. He even willingly returned them their wings and horns.

Discord was using his very colorful powers for pretty much anything he did. Chaotic powers brought him all the food he liked, a place to sleep, chaotic fun he so adored and could fulfill pretty much any of his hearts desires.

Sure, first two days he thought he would be alright. But now... the Spirit that just a few days ago declared war on Ponyville, desiring to be proclaimed the most chaotic citizen of their little town, has fallen victim to a depression against his will. And just he was getting used to this life, too!

Twilight wasn't going to have any of that.

"Oh come one! Do you want to play the Chess Mess, perhaps? You love that game." Twilight offered to play the recently named game the both of them thoroughly enjoyed.

"Yes, yes I do. But, nah."

Twilight blinked.

"How about some other game? I have bunch of cool games for whenever me and my friends do a sleepover! We can ask Spike to play with us, too! Actually, he's spending today at Rarity's..."

"Mmm..." Discord hummed lazily. Twilight couldn't help but put on a sad face. Watching him like this was almost painful.

"Or we could watch one of those old, bad movies and do a running commentary!"

Her face lightened up when the Spirit looked at her curiously, seeminly interested. But already in the next moment, he merely said:

"I'm not in the mood."

_What the hay? Either I must be going crazy, or Discord is sick – he usually isn't so willing to do nothing at all._

She suddenly got an idea.

"Wait here, alright? I know just the thing that will cheer you up!"

"Sure, why not." the Spirit replied annoyingly, as Twilight ran out of her home.

"Or should I say, I know just the pony." she added to herself, smirking. The idea was so brilliant she couldn't help but smile to herself.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Twilight I'm so glad I get to hang out with Discord! We'll turn that frown upsides down, put on a smile in a while, bring the happy into ness!"<p>

"That doesn't even make- oh, never mind, anyway; please do whatever you can to cheep him up. He's been so down for some reason, it is not at all like him! But don't tell anyone else about it, please; I don't want them to think I failed!"

"Aww you don't have to worry about that Twilight - but promise is a promise!" Pinkie crossed her chest.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, stuck a cupcake in my eye!" the jolly pony produced a cupcake out of nowhere as she firmly squished it against her eyelid, the piece of strawberry falling on the ground. Twilight have her a soft smile before the two entered the library.

"Discord!" Twilight called for the draconequues, who still hasn't moved an inch, being in the same position as before. Twilight gave herself a few moments to pity him, then announced:

"Look who came to visit!"

Discord got up and glanced over the pink pony, then rolled his eyes.

"Oh hi there, Meanie Pie."

"Ohhohoho, that really was mean of you." Pinkie replied joyfully as she bounced around him, jollier than ever; the Spirit sighed.

"Is this what you had in mind, Twilight Sparkle?"

"Sure! Hanging out with Pinkie will cheer you up in no time!"

"... we'll see about that."

"Sure it will!" the pink pony grinned a stunningly big grin. "Come on, let's play a game!"

"Does it include giving me my powers back? Because I assure you, we could have so much fun with my powers."

Twilight left the two to do whatever they want, figuring they could use some time alone. She went out, sat on a nearby bench and opened up one of the big old book she used in her studies, deciding to read it again - you know, for fun!

If anything was to go wrong she could easily come inside to check things out.

Not fifteen minutes passed and she heard Pinkie calling for her. Twilight joyfully stood up and ran inside, convinced to see the repaired damage, hoping to see that same old smile below those mismatched eyes - only to horrifyingly realize upon entering that Pinkie was gray from head to toe. The sweetness of her usually bright, smiling face was replaced with a

"What the-" Twilight's jaw dropper as the spirit of Disharmony closed the door behind her, laughing cruelly.

"It really was a fun game, Twilight Sparkle. As you can see, it allowed me to once again govern my powers!"

"Stop laughing! This isn't fun!" Pinkie growled angrily at Discord. If it were possible, Twilight's eyes would have probably left their sockets by now.

"W-what?" her heart was beating so fast she could swore it will jump right out of her chest.

"B-but that's imp- how did you-what is going on?" she stuttered,

"You're done with questions! It is time for me to exact my revenge! But I am not heartless, dear, I'll let you choose." Discord slowly advanced on her

"_I can send you on vacation, in a rather popular destination._

_One that Luna even still fears, for she spent there about a thousand years._"

The Spirit of Disharmony cornered her, a maniacal grin decorating his face. Twilight was speechless, helpless to do anything but watch the Spirit as he continued to narrate his awfully creepy little rhyme, circling her with his snake-like body.

"_Your other choice of vacationing spot includes the royal gardens of Canterlot,_

_or perhaps right next to my throne, where you'll be the first pony ever to be enhanced in stone._"

It took a few moments for Twilight's racing brain to connect the dots of the rhymes - he was either banishing her in the Moon, or trapping her into stone? What kind of sick choice was that? Had their growing relationship meant nothing to him? Was it all just an act? Was he really going to be chaotic until his end?

"D-Discord, please don't-!... Ah-I-"

"Oh my, a little indecisive are we? That's alright dear, I made the decision for you; I always wanted a pony statue!"

"N-no! W-what are you saying? Stop it! Pinkie, help me!" Twilight yelled out in fear, trying with all her might to concentrate on her magic, but it was in vain - she was way too terrified. The pink pony just stared at her angrily.

"You'll never laugh at me again."

In her mind, Twilight as saying goodbye to her family and friends; she covered herself with her hooves instinctively, awaiting the powerful spell that will seal her in the same stone prison Discord spent countless pony lifetimes in, regretting everything that happened, wishing desperately for a way out... and wishing for the Discord she got to know in the past few days back.

A snort.

Twilight peeked out and saw both Discord and Pinkie Pie biting their lips with the silliest expressions of their faces. Before the unicorn could even process what was going on, sheer fear still running through her veins, both the Spirit and the party pony fell on the floor to laugh their guts out.

"Wh...wha'?" Twilight asked in daze, still shocked and scared, but most of all, confused. Pinkie Pie, tears running down her cheeks, revealing her naturally pink skin, gave her a firm hug as she stuttered out:

"P-p-p-praaanked, ha~ hahahaha~!" and continued laughing as crazy, like she usually did, falling back on the floor, and leaving the ash marks all over Twilights' neck. Discord was no better; Twilight noticed he was clutching onto his belly and ribs, most likely because he laughed so hard it hurt.

Twilight felt so many emotions stir in her. She was upset and a bit angry, but relieved and happy at the same time. And their laughter was so loud, so embarrassing and... absolutely contagious.

Feeling like a victim of a mean joke still didn't stop Twilight from slowly breaking into a laugh, entertained by the hilarious laughter of the two that were by now gasping for air. It started with a snort, then a giggle, and soon evolved into a laughing party of three. If anyone was passing by the library, they probably would have thought somepony was having a mania attack.

It took them quite a while to stop laughing; their faces were wet with tears, manes messy, their bellys' hurt and they all flopped down into the floor and laid on their back to rest, still giggling and trying to calm down completely.

"Now... now that," the Spirit was the first to start talking, his voice a bit cracked and shaking, "is what I call a good prank."

"S-sorry if it was a bit mean, Twilight," the pink pony's good nature had to apologize for what they had done, even if it was all in good fun, "but I did my best to think of a way to cheer him up."

"Oh my, this is the best prank I've ever had the chance of performing in eons!" the Spirit broke into a laughing fit again, thought not as nearly as strong one as before. While he was busy trying to make it stop ("It hurts! Oh sweet Chaos, my ribs!"), Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie, who wore a somewhat sheepish smile on her face.

"You did a great job Pinkie. I wouldn't expect any less of you." Twilight gratefully said, happy to see Pinkie Pie's face break into a relieved expression.

"But boy, you sure had me fooled. I never knew just how much I-" Twilight stopped herself suddenly, making the pink pony curious.

"Never knew what?" she asked.

"- oh! Just that, umm, how much I err, cared about teaching Discord of the Elements of Harmony! It just came to me how important I find it!" Twilight stuttered out her response, making Pinkie Pie slightly suspicious; luckily, Pinkie wasn't the pony the interfere in other peoples' minds. Well, not too much at least.

"Okie dokie lokie! Oh, the Pinkie Prank inspiration kicked in!" Pinkie suddenly said.

"Let's go and prank Applejack, the three of us! I just thought of the greatest prank ever!"

"Oooh, I simply must have on a look on that the little farmers' reaction once we prank her. Judging by her fiery temper, we'll be in for so much trouble! " Discord eagerly agreed.

"Come on Twilight, wanna go with us? Please, please, please~?" Pinkie Pie smiled her brilliantly wide smile.

Twilight was never too much into pranks; or, to be more honest, she was never as imaginative when it came to thinking of them, so she thought she might as well leave them alone to have their fun - but she was surprised to see that Discord too was eagerly awaiting for her response. Well, the spirit liked having fun; and as the saying goes, the more, the merrier, right?

Twilight grinned mischievously, automatically receiving the smiling responses on the faces of the two. "Count me in!"

* * *

><p>Twilight was surprised to realize they spent the whole afternoon and a good part of evening pranking not only Applejack, but a few other ponies they came across. The victims were pretty numerous that day. Twilight did feel only slightly bit embarrassed though, as nopony expected her to turn out to be one of the pranksters.<p>

The best part of it all though, Twilight had to admit, was when she noticed how many of the ponies, while still not approving him entirely, weren't afraid of Discord anymore - in fact, when they stopped to say hi to Derpy and Dr. Whooves, they both even greeted them all politely, including the mismatched Spirit.

Luna had already lifter the Moon, and the first stares shined across the sky. The good mood they achieved by the end of the day was still lingering in them, as they slowly started to make their way home, discussing some of the pranks they pulled that day.

"Oh come on Twilight, for your first prank that was pretty good!" Pinkie Pie chirped.

"Oh come on, it is just a simple vanishing ink trick." Twilight shyly scraped the dirt underneath her hooves.

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, Twilight Sparkle - the expression of fashionistas' face as she saw her newest creation covered in ink was a memory I'll treasure forever." Discord commented, slowly flying next to the two, apparently finding walking too boring for his taste.

"You're being too kind!" the unicorn kept defending herself, feeling embarrassed about accepting any kind of praise. Discord and Pinkie Pie rolled their eyes as one.

The three soon reached the Sugarcube Corner, which, Twilight noticed with a surprise, was about to close for today. Was it that late already? The party pony stood in front of the entrance with one hoof on the door.

"Phew, it really has been a long day with you two. But it was so much fun! We have to do it again someday!" Pinkie Pie suggested, and Twilight noticed with a glee she couldn't hide that the Spirit was in a normal conversation with another pony.

"Definitely Pinkie my dear; your sense of joke and intoxicating laughter is something I'll look forward to hang around again."

_What a way with words!_ Twilight though, looking as the pink pony replied with, what else, a silly giggle.

"Oh! One more thing!" Pinkie ran inside and came back almost instantly, carrying a lime green box wrapped with a silky light blue ribbon.

"Cupcakes; for my new friend!" she grinned widely as she handed the somewhat surprised Spirit the neatly packed box. Twilight glanced nervously from Pinkie to Discord and back, unsure whether the Spirit will refuse the nice gesture or not. Somehow she couldn't imagine him doing anything different.

Discord accepted the box, eyeing it like it was some sort of unfamiliar buried relic. Moments passed, but he said nothing. Instead he just arched an eyebrow. Twilight couldn't tell just what was that reaction about.

"Well, goodnight!" Pinkie interrupted the silence, waving to the two as they started towards the library. Discord gave her a small lazy wave, still not saying anything. Wondering what was going on in his mind right now, Twilight spoke first after a few moments of silence.

"That was really nice of Pinkie Pie, don't you think?"

"Come on now Twilight Sparkle, I think we both know what this is." DIscord replied, with a tiny wise smile. Twilight frowned in confusion.

"Um, a box of cupcakes? And probably really good ones, too."

"Oh dear, your'e so naive. This box is a prank, obviously."

"What? Why would you think that? Pinkie was trying to be nice!"

"Yeah, right." he dismissively waved his eagle hand. "After a whole afternoon of pranking business, one would've thought she was trying to hard with this pathetic attempt at a prank."

"Ugh, you're so mistrusting." Twilight mumbled as she opened the door to the library, letting the Spirit to fly in and land softly in the middle of the room; he put the box on the floor and comfortably relaxed on the floor, much like a lion would, right in front of it, pondering.

"Now, now, what could it be..."

"Discord, it is just cupcakes. Trust me on that one."

"You really should know your friends better, don't you think? As a Friendship Element, one would've thought you'd knew what this box was all about."

If anything ever seriously angered Twilight Sparkle in her life, then it was that particular comment. However, she decided to shake it off, and instead, trying to keep a normal voice, replied:

"I know my friends just fine Discord! In fact, how about this - if there is no prank inside, waiting for you, I must pick a first cupcake you will eat."

The Spirit looked at her funny with wide eyes, chuckling; he was probably a bit confused by an unusual offer, but didn't seem worried.

"Fine, you're on Twilight Sparkle - see if I care when you get a blueberry pie into your face." he replied confidently.

Twilight didn't waste a moment of time. She marched right over next to him, looking straight into his mismatched golden eyes.

"Cupcakes." her voice was ice cold as she opened the box. No flying pies on springs or streamers shooting out, or fake snakes. A dozen of beautifully made cupcakes sat in the box, all of them a different flavor. On the bottom of the box lid though, there was a short note in round, child like handwriting:

_Hiya there Discord, thank you for trying my cupcakes! I had no idea which flavors do you like, so I just put all of the flavors I had nearby! The third one in the middle is with gems though, cause you see, we ponies don't eat gems, so I made those for Spike, but I thought maybe you liked them, so I packed one for you!_

_Have a cupcakestic meal!_

Underneath that message seemed to be another one, shorter; it looked like Pinkie Pie added it in just before she handed Discord the cupcakes.

_P.S. The one in the left lower corner is for Twilight, cause she doesn't like spicy much, so I spiced it up a little bit! Ssh, don't tell her! Enjoy the last prank for today! 8D_

The Spirit's before confident smile turned to an annoyed frown, while Twilights' face was a reflection of pride. He angrily glanced over at her.

"You knew she was preparing this prank for _you_, didn't you."

"Considering it a prank from my part, then. A deal is a deal - open wide!" Twilight laughed as she fed the draconequues the spicy cupcake originally meant for her.

"If I may partially quote," she began as the draconequues, surprisingly enough, made a grimace and gained a darker shade of red in his face, "the expression of the Spirits' face as he ate the chilli pepper filled cupcake is a memory I'll treasure forever."

Discord flew up and into the kitchen; Twilight couldn't suppress a loud laughter when she heard him gargling underneath the tap on the sink, desperately trying to wash away the taste of his failure.

* * *

><p>It was late at night. Twilight carefully studied the first floor, and with relief noticed the draconequues was asleep. She didn't feel comfortable right doing this while he was awake.<p>

She carefully got back into her bed, and opened one of the drawers, pulling out her diary. the diary was not even half filled; she wrote in it mostly when something of greater significance would happen. The most recent entry naturally being the news of draconequues moving in - written about a week ago.

Summoning a quill and making sure the covers were well over her head, hiding both her and her diary from nonexistent looks she felt all around because of paranoia, she started writing.

_Dear diary,_

_today I realized something absolutely terrible, totally terrifying, yet so satisfying and sweet, I can't help myself._

_The funny part of this is, I realized it during a prank being pulled on me._

_I realized that I got too attached to a certain Spirit; the way he acts without is powers is much more acceptable; having no powers to hide behind, having no ability to magic himself away when the situation gets uncomfortable, or any means to prevent something embarrassing happening to him, I started to discover the real face hiding behind the title of Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. And I started to like it._

_I almost blurted out to Pinkie Pie that I realized back then just how much I cared about Discord; as he threatened to turn me to a statue, I felt my heart hurting because it felt much like betrayal. And not a betrayal of a friend. There was something more. It felt so strange, almost like a nightmare._

_To conclude it and put it bluntly once and for all my dear diary, and I don't like admitting it at all, I think I'm falling for Discord._

* * *

><p><strong> Rejoice, the real chaos in Twilight Sparkle's head begins as of now! :D<strong>

**Please inform me of my bad grammar if you can. ^^;**


	5. Sleeping Issues

Twilight Sparkle woke up early. So early, there were still one or two stars left in the sky. Not that she could help it. Beside her bed, in his little basket, her assistant was snoring contently, not aware of his friends' pretty, well... awkward problem. She was sitting on her bed, staring with a certain dose of disbelief at her most recent diary entry.

"What in the world was I thinking." Mentally, she tried blaming it on the way too many of way too sweet cupcakes Discord and her shared last night.

(She had to challenge him to a game of Chess Mess to be able to get them though; the Spirit obviously still haven't learned of the "magic of sharing'. Still, the evening was fun.)

She tried laughing it off as a result of not having a proper crush in quite some time. At one point, she even decided she was dreaming.

But Twilight Sparkle couldn't deny it anymore. Something changed and it changed significantly. Maybe not a lot, but it was obvious to her. And she couldn't define it any way else. Once again, she looked at the last words on the bottom of her diary page.

... I think I'm falling for Discord."

The purple pony frowned. Her head flopped onto her pillow as she let out a worn our breath.

"How is that possible~" she moaned into the pillow, stressed to no end.

Indeed, how was it possible. That question has been mingling all over her head for half of the night, and once she finally fell asleep, she had the oddest dream that involved her being a statue in Canterlot's garden that now belonged to Discord; then Pinkie Pie came before her and with the angriest frown she ever saw, offered her cupcakes, laughing with a maniacal joyless laughter; as one can easily tell, a completely illogical, senseless and she had to be honest, pretty terrifying dream. Pinkie laughing without smiling was just... twisted.

But those dreams would usually appear rarely; in situations like this in fact, when she wasn't entirely sure what was going on or what should she do.

Once again, she tried to put it through rational thinking; ever since Discord lost his powers, he started showing the side of him that was pretty much hidden. Until then, his powers were his personality.

But now... he made her laugh, instead of worry. He showed her his playful, teasing side, instead of the one that was cruel and sadistic. He became more talkative about the silliest of things, instead of just bringing speeches of chaos and rule of entire Equestria. Small things he did even seemed to suggest he did have a friendly disposition towards her.

But still, that couldn't erase all the chaos he did, both back when he ruled Equestria centuries ago, and his recent escape from his stone prison; not to mention what he did to her best friends. Simply denying his chaotic deeds would be irrational.

The purple mare shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"Ah, whatever. He will probably give me a reason not to like him soon, anyway." she finally concluded, this time putting on a determined face. So what's the big deal? That... crush, was just that - a crush, nothing more. She wasn't even completely sure of it. Sure, right now it felt like she was falling for him - but what if it was just a product of her pretty desolate love life? Yes, that must've been it! Another thing to put in a research of emotional states of a pony during a complicated time of life!

"Gosh, I'm acting like such a silly filly." she finally laughed to herself, feeling quite better than before. With newly discovered confidence, she slammed the diary shut, locked it up (just in case) and put it back into the nightstand. Snuggling back into her blanket, she almost wanted to laugh out loud.

She couldn't wait for the morning to come to finally prove to herself that she was right. Seriously, how could she even for a moment think that what she wrote was true?

* * *

><p>"Wake up, sleepy head!" and a loud horn he pulled out who knows from where. What a beautiful sound to be waken up to. She made a mental note on "reason not to like him, number #1", already feeling better about herself. Next to her, she heard Spike screaming with surprise as the Spirit lifted his bed into the air, high above his head.<p>

"Discord, what the hay are you doing?"

"I'm-!"

"Let me guess - bored."

"Oh, you know me so well!" the Spirit responded sweetly as he finally let the baby dragons' basket fall back on the floor - with the mentioned baby dragon still in it. He silently cursed to himself, but loud enough to earn a parenting look from Twilight. He grinned innocently.

"Sorry, Twilight, hehe. Um, I'm going to make some breakfast. Anything you'd like?"

"Hmm, I'm not too hungry... but I guess some eggs would be nice." Twilight pondered as he got out of the bed,

"Eggs on the way!"

"Spike, wait!" Twilight called for him before he had a chance of going down, with a questioning look on her face.

"Aren't you going to ask Discord what he wants for breakfast?" she suggested, wanting the two to get along a bit more.

"Oh that is fine dear, I can get my own- oh wait." the Spirit stopped moments before he almost clicked his fingers, planning on summoning his by now well known glass of chocolate milk along with with something to eat. Twilight grinned sheepishly. He was probably used to making his own breakfast each morning... or summoning food whenever he felt like it.

"Spike, make us both the same, OK?" Twilight suggested.

"Oh, alright." the baby dragon eyed the draconequues, apparently amused by his mistake. He paid for his 'insolence' by being gently pushed down the stairs by Discords' tail.

Once again, the awkward silence fell between the two, as Discord once more reminisced about his once available powers that allowed him to summon all the chocolate milk in the world he wanted.

"Ugh, the mornings in here are always so boring. So regular! So... so..." the Spirit was trying to find the right word as he slowly flew downstairs, followed by Twilight. His thinking spree lasted for good few minutes until they were in the middle of a meal, when he suddenly burst into a triumphant laugh, making Twilight jerk so hard her snout sank into her scrambled eggs, while Spike fell off his chair.

"I got it!"

Twilight looked over the table at him, the expression of obvious disapproval on her face. When he noticed the pieces of yolk on her face he snickered mischievously. Twilight sighed.

"You 'got' what, Discord?" Spike added annoyingly, gently rubbing his back in pain.

"Ah, right, to the matter at hand - my brilliant mind managed to realize exactly why do I feel like the mornings in here lack the level of excitement I'm used to!"

"Oh really." Twilight automatically responded, wiping her face. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the inability to conjure yourself a cotton candy cloud bed, now would it?"

"Not necessarily." the Spirit replied indirectly and then finally explained: "You see Twilight Sparkle, unlike you ponies who just so love sleeping with the same old feeling of cotton fabric embracing you, looking at your ceiling before falling asleep and wake up to absolutely the same thing you fell asleep to, I prefer something different."

"And what might that be?" the unicorn asked, by now confused. It was now the draconequues' turn to frown in disapproval, as he apparently expected of her to get his point.

"The location, my dear. I never slept in the same spot twice, it is unnatural for me."

"Oh!" Twilight suddenly realized what he was talking about - even around here, he never slept on the couch more than once. Just last night he was sleeping on the floor. She wondered how she never noticed that during this past week.

"Therefore, I will probably be leaving your humble tree tonight to sleep in some more attractive place, but don't worry I'll be back by morning - I wouldn't like Celestia to personally come and give me a lesson on magic of safety." he mocked.

"The Everfree forest sounds like a nice change of surroundings." he proceeded.

"Sure why no- wait, what? No, no way Discord! I am not letting you go into that forest!"

The Spirit started laughing right at her face, making her face crimson with both anger and embarrassment. Spike was eyeing both of them with a bit of concern.

"My dear, I think you're forgetting who're you talking with here; I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Not to mention," he flew over the table, looking a bit tauntingly into her eyes, like he was challenging her to deny what he was about to say, "you're not in charge of me. I go where I please."

Twilight stubbornly stared into his mismatched eyes, his slightly frightening and personal space-invading vicinity not throwing her out of tact.

"You are right; I am not in control of where you go; but I do know that right now your chances of surviving by yourself in that forest are much smaller than when you had your powers. So I simply can not let you go."

Discord furrowed a brow.

"And how exactly do you plan on stopping me?" he asked. The look in his eyes was positively devilish.

Was he acting silly? Twilight still had her powers, there was no way he could've overpowered her magically speaking. He was much stronger physically than all of the ponies in Ponyville though, if not even Equestria. But he wouldn't hurt her or Spike... Right?

"By whatever means necessary." she replied firmly, not revealing the sudden wave of insecurity.

The Spirit laughed once again.

"We'll see about that, Twilight Sparkle. I will be leaving after sunset, so feel free to either to bid me good night, or try and stop me. The latter would be so much more amusing though."

"Again with the silly games, Discord?" Twilight angrily asked as she got up from the table.

"Oh, this is no silly game, Twilight Sparkle." Discord answered through a chuckle. The unicorn's frown finally disappeared, replaced with a pretty obvious expression of concern. Discord merely continued laughing as he passed by her and opened one of the windows. As he stretched, preparing to go for a morning fly, he continued with a sinister:

"You asked for a challenge and you'll get one."

"See you for lunch, then! And please, no daisies, I'm sick of those." he added cheerfully with a sudden shift in his attitude, then flew off through the window.

A few very silent moments passed when a sound of broken ceramics was heard. Twilight jerked and noticed a broken plate on the floor. Right next to it, Spike, but like she never saw him before - he was practically fuming with rage.

"Spike, what-"

"How DARE he?" he yelled out.

"Spike, calm down!" Twilight caught him by his shoulders, preventing him from grabbing a half filled glass of milk. It broke her heart to notice the tears in the young dragons' eyes.

"He- he practically threatened you, Twilight! How could he? I am going to beat him up once and for all, I swear I will!"

"Spike please, just calm-" she fell silent when the dragon turned towards her. He was by now crying rivers of tears.

"I won't a-allow him... I won't let him t-take you away~" he suddenly hugged her so tightly she nearly lost her balance. Twilight was choking up; seeing him like this was just too much for her.

"Oh Spike, I will never leave you; I would never do that to my number one assistant and the best friend a pony could ask for." she gently nuzzled his cheek.

"Listen Spike, you mustn't let him get to you; that's exactly what he wants."

"B-but Twilight-"

"Enough of that now; please do not worry, I'll think of something. I always do, don't I?" She smiled.

This time Spike didn't answer. He seemed to be thinking of an answer to that question.

"Well~"

"Oh shush!" Twilight smiled as the baby dragon finally gave her a small giggle.

"Come on now, don't worry about those things. We have studying to do."

* * *

><p>Twilight and Spike spent much of the afternoon filling in the new found information on various researches, which luckily resulted in Spike relaxing completely, him being totally indulged into his everyday tasks. (when Twilight told him to pull out the, by now quite old research of emotions in life of an average pony, she earned a pretty suspicious look) But Twilight couldn't stop thinking of the troublesome Spirit.<p>

She recalled that dangerous look in his eyes, the way he shrugged off her warnings without a care... she even wouldn't be that much under the impression of the threatening draconequues if he didn't made Spike worry so much.

What was he planning on doing? Would he really hurt her? Or maybe do something to Spike? That was probably what Celestia expected Twilight to take care of; that was probably what she should stop by teaching Discord of the Harmony. She simply couldn't ask her for involvement. The thought of asking her friends for help did cross her mind, but she didn't want to ruin what little progress she made with others giving him another chance - and she especially didn't want see Pinkie disappointed.

Oh, it was so sudden! So far, they got along pretty well, practically resulting in, she recalled a bit shyly, her crushing on him. This sudden turn of the events unpleasantly surprised her.

With no idea of what to do, she concluded she could only wait for the evening to confront him.

Feeling a burst of inspiration, she called for Spike.

"Spike, bring me the 'Spells for Pranksters, vol 3., please.' "

"Sure, but, what are you going to do with it?"

"Nothing much. I just need to repeat a few spells... just in case." she added in the end, making sure Spike couldn't hear her.

* * *

><p>"Twilight? Are you OK?"<p>

"I'm fine Spike, why?"

"Well... it's almost sunset." Spike whispered, both concern and fear audible in his voice. Twilight tried giving him a reassuring smile, at the same time glancing at the Spirit who in the meanwhile returned to her home; he was sitting in the middle of the library and, oddly enough, busy with practicing origami for some time now. Even with all the commotion, she couldn't help but wonder where in the world did he get the idea or inspiration for making origami so suddenly; or how did he even find the book on origami without her help.

"Don't worry, I prepared myself just in case. Spike," she continued quietly "please, [i]please[/i] go to the kitchen; I want to talk to him alone." Twilight saw he was about to protest, but she couldn't let the little dragon be anywhere around him until she knew Discords' intentions.

"Listen, I need you to go out and inform anyone if by any chance something happens. Not that it will," she added quickly "but just in case."

The little dragon listened to her with heavy heart and went into the kitchen, but not being able to contain his worry or curiosity, stayed at the door frame, peeking in. Twilight took a deep breath as she approached Discord from behind, peeking over his shoulder. She couldn't help but laugh as he tossed the half finished paper box aside, crushing it.

"You know, you should start with easier shapes." the nerdy pony couldn't resist but to try and help.

"Mm?" Discord absentmindedly asked, not taking his eyes off the paper he was trying to turn into a fancy tall vase that demanded way too many folds for a beginner.

"You should start with shapes such as a boat, a paraglider or an envelope. They are much easier."

"That does make a valid point, but this shapes are so much more interesting."

"And complicated! It will take you a good amount of practice before you'll be able to make those." she watched as his short-fingered lion paw accidentally squashed the corner of the shape. Impatient as he was with things like origami, Discord finally gave up, throwing the shape aside. As he got up, Twilight remembered why she was here.

"Discord, we need to talk. About what you said before..." she went straight to the point. The draconequues looked at her, now amused.

"Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. So what have you decided? Is the challenge still on?"

Having no idea what she was getting herself into, Twilight gave him a firm nod. The Spirit grinned, apparently happy with the development of the situation.

"Excellent then! Prepare yourself, for there is no way you can outdo me in what I do the best!"

Huh? What was he talking about?

Twilight watched with utter confusion, petrified as the Spirit flew into the air and circled her a couple of times, finally dramatically stopping in the mid air to utter two simple and for her extremely baffling words:

"Riddle challenge!"

. . . somewhere in the background, a faint sound of little dragon falling down with surprise was heard, but Twilight didn't register it.

"... excuse me?"

"I see you're shocked; I would be too if I realized just how utterly hopeless the situation wa- OW! What did you do that fo-OW! Calm down, for Chaos' sake!" Discord desperately flew as close to the ceiling as possible to avoid another one of the unicorns' surprisingly strong kicks into his flank.

Twilight was raging, the magic of her horn literally complying to her sudden, strong mood change; she for a few very long seconds turned into a fiery ball of rage, her coat as yellow as the sun, her eyes and her mane literally fiery as she was burning with anger. Discord seemed positively horrified by the display.

The flames soon extinguished though, and now the very angry, regularly purple Twilight was challenging the Spirit to descend. Spirit noticed the vengeful spark in her eyes he knew so well - heck, he practically invented that spark.

"Come down, Discord. I just want to... 'talk'."

"No thank you, I, err, I think I'll stick around the ceiling for a while. This chandelier... such an art." he pointed to a regular lamp that hanged in the middle of the ceiling, smiling sheepishly.

The unicorn immediately put him under a spell that dragged him down to her, putting him on her eye level, violently pressing her nose against his. If she were any less angry, she probably would have noticed the slightly confused horror in Discord's eyes.

"You." she started, only prepared to give him a lesson he'll never forget.

"How dare~ you treat me like that."

"I-"

"How dare you put me into such a stressful situation. Do you have ANY idea what I went thought this afternoon? Do you have any idea what your stupid, [b]STUPID[/b] talk about the '[i]challenge at the sunset[/i]' caused to both me and Spike? Do you have [b]ANY[/b] idea just how concerned I was?" the last question came out louder than she expected, but she didn't care one bit. The Spirit didn't have a comment, so she continued:

"I even prepared a few new spells just in case. I couldn't relax; I was on my wits ends as I was asking myself if you're really that cruel to hurt me or Spike!"

"Hurt y-"

"Shut up!" Twilight unexpectedly rudely yelled out.

"When you said this wasn't going to be a silly game, I took your words literally! Don't feign confusion, I know this was you plan, wasn't it; poor little Twilight breaking down in tears and scared for your amusement, huh? Well that isn't- isn't gonna... h-happen..."

Discord observed with insecurity the purple pony who suddenly fell silent. The expression on her face was a familiar one, but he couldn't quite place it; it didn't look good though.

"Twilight! Happy place, think of a happy place!" suddenly Spike burst into the room and threw a wide, thin, white bed cover over her, then held her tightly and rocked her in his arms. He eyed Discord with doubtless hate, who in return started at the newly developed scene with confusion.

"You know, if there even was a slightest hint of hope I had invested in you, I think I just lost it." Spike said through gritted teeth.

"What did I do?" Discord finally asked, upset. Spike sighed as he felt the unicorn tremble in his arms under the cover.

"Ugh! Never mind, just- help me put her into her bed. NOW."

While not liking being ordered around, the situation seemed slightly more serious than their everyday shenanigans. Without a word, Discord picked up the trembling Twilight, still in her cover, and in matter of seconds flew up and put her into her bed. Spike followed, and sat next to her, at the same time silently ordering the Spirit to get lost.

Discord growled at the insolence of the baby dragon, but decided he would worry about it later. He descended down into the library and unwillingly played with pieces of origami paper that were left on the floor. In about ten minutes, he heard footsteps and noticed the baby dragon approaching him.

"Well, I hope you got what you wanted. One more pony is troubled because of you. You must be SO happy. Well of course you are, there is no such thing as being of Chaos actually regretting something."

"I've had enough of this," the Spirit finally replied angrily, "I have no idea what is going on; I demand an explanation. I merely challenged her to a riddle game!"

"That was not what she- what WE expected!" Spike fumed. "The way you so- so devilishly told us we should expect a challenge, we though you would do something... horrible!" Spike was struggling with finding the right words.

Discords' eyes almost popped out.

"Horrible? What did you expect of me to do, to feed you both to the Timber Wolves or something?"

"YES!" Spike finally exploded, deciding the example Discord proposed was close enough to how worried they were. The Spirit finally seemed to have realized what was going on.

"You said it was no silly game!" Spike continued.

"That's right - no SILLY game! But still a game!" Spike facepalmed, wondering if the Spirit was by now mocking him or not. He did look quite confused though.

"What's with that whole thing with the cover? I mean it was obvious she was upset, but... what's the thing with the cover?" he repeated as he pointed toward to second floor where still shook up Twilight was trembling in the sheets.

Spike sighed.

"Whenever Twilight is overly stressed or under great pressure, she has a, well... a nervous breakdown of a sort. I was lucky enough this time to stop it before it completely took over her, so she'll be fine, but usually she totally losses it." he shivered.

"It doesn't happen often, so I guess you can be proud." he added sarcastically.

It took Discord a few pretty self discovering moments to realize a couple of things. For one, and this worried him the most, he didn't find her breakdown any fun at all. Usually breakdowns were pretty fun to watch. He decided to put that problem aside.

Second, he never realized his "challenge" offer was so...

"So you're saying that when I 'challenged her' this morning, I was looking-"

"You were looking like you were prepared to seriously harm us, yes." Spike finished for him, finally finding the right words.

To Spike's surprise, Discord looked insulted as he raised his eagle hand to dramatically rest on his chest.

"Seriously! And there I thought I made my chaotic intentions clear!" he flew closer to the little dragon, who eyed him carefully.

"I don't know if you noticed dragon boy, but I do prefer less physically painful chaotic deeds. One of the first things I told your dear friend, along with the other Elements of Harmony and Celestia herself was that I do NOT. Turn. Ponies. Into stone. I thought hurting them was included in my statement, but I guess I wasn't clear enough."

Spike now couldn't keep the expression of suspicion of her face.

"Whoa whoa, wait a minute there; so you're trying to tell me you've never hurt a pony?"

"What kind of barbarian do you take me for?" the Spirit replied, in such a tone Spike felt he was talking to Rarity for a second.

"OK, fine, let's say I trust that one... but you still owe Twilight an apology!"

Spike waited with a frown for Spirit to finish his sudden laughing fit.

"Oh Spikey-Wikey, you are such a cute little funny delight sometimes! Twilight Sparkles' misunderstanding of my intentions is her problem, not mine."

Spike threw his hands in the air, uttering a resigning "fine" before stomping into the kitchen to make some tea for Twilight.

The Spirit realized he really could use a change of scenery tonight, especially after what happened. He needed to think this through - which was new for him; usually, he knew what he wanted and what to do in certain situations.

Without another word, the Spirit flew out to find an appropriate sleeping place under the stars.

* * *

><p>"Spike?" Twilight slowly awoke after a short nap that followed when the breakdown ended. Spike was sitting on her bed right next to her.<p>

"It's OK Twilight, I'm here."

"Ugh, my head... what happ- oh." the unicorn remembered the events before finished the question, and was once again enraged. Getting out of the bed, and nearly tipping Spike over, she spoke: "Oh, I remember what happened, alright! Where is that big jerk? I'm going to give him a lesson he's going to remember!"

"He's gone." Spike silently said. "He probably went to Everfree forest."

Twilight growled angrily.

"Gosh, I can't believe he was doing that to me! I can't believe that I actually allowed myself to break in front of him; oh how happy he must've been! I should've known he was nothing more but a mean schemer!"

"It didn't seem like it was his plan actually... but well, he actually had something to say everything."

"Oh really? Please do tell; I want a reason or two more to leave a hoof mark on his flank!"

Spike told her of his short but informative conversation with Discord, every single word and every single reaction, in hopes it would help Twilight in deciphering his attitude. Twilight's rage slowly melted away as he finished talking.

"What? He didn't think he sounded threatening? How in the world could he- UGH!" Twilight's frustration almost got the best of her, until she felt a scent of tea - Spike gently held the cup in front of her and it's soothing scent and radiating warmth already made her feel better. Once she actually sipped it she felt a wave of relaxation flowing through her body.

"Thank you Spike. Oh gosh, I need to sleep on this one. I feel so confused."

"I'm not surprised." Spike mumbled. "It is a bit late too. I think it is time for both of us to go to bed."

"Right... I just hope Discord will be OK."

Spike sighed. "Still worried about him?"

"Just because he upset me doesn't mean I don't have a reason to worry you know." Twilight sighed heavily as she crawled back into her bed.

"That forest is so dangerous, Spike."

"Oh come on Twilight," Spike spoke as he too crawled into his basket, "Discord may not have his powers anymore, but he's not stupid. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

"I guess you're right. I can't even imagine Discord getting lost or something, anyway." Twilight smiled softly, now a bit calmer, but still feeling restless because of everything that happened.

"Hey Spike? When I, um... broke down... did he seem, you know, happy or proud? Like he achieved his goal?"

"Well, I was more concerned about you, but from what I saw, I'd say he was kind of... alarmed, I guess. In fact, now that you mention it, it was the first time I saw him a bit distressed."

"I see..." she yawned and snuggled into her pillow and slowly closed her eyes, wishing Spike goodnight.

Fifteen minutes later her thoughts were still racing. Spike was already in deep sleep, quietly snoring and mumbling something about Rarity. The silence of the night gave Twilight an idea, and she decided to do something a bit risky. It may not succeed, but she had to try. After all, Princess Celestia was always understanding and she could be up for the plan.

She summoned a parchment and a quill, and started writing...

* * *

><p>Discord swiftly climbed the highest tree he could find. It took him quite some time finding a tree tall enough to separate him from everything that crawled bellow him and strong enough to support him. Once he did though, he laid lazily on one of the huge branches, making himself comfortable.<p>

"Much better." he commented to himself. The lack of energy kind of bothered him - during the time he had his powers, he didn't require as much sleep, for whatever reason that might've been. Maybe all that chocolate milk was what kept him so hyper and awake all the time.

The Spirit took the opportunity to ponder about everything that happened that evening. For one, he couldn't believe that anypony actually thought he might seriously cause somepony any physical harm. That was just not right for whatever reason. Not to mention not nearly as fun as messing with someponys' mind.

But what really worried him was the fact he seemingly liked Twilight Sparkle, that silly egghead, enough to not enjoy seeing her in such a distressed state. Now that he thought of it, he also felt like him and Pinkie could get along fabulously well in the future. He didn't like that one little bit. Was it possible he was getting soft? Lack of his powers threw his confident, arrogant persona aside, which made him vulnerable. And if he hated anything, it was being vulnerable.

As he was slowly falling to sleep, the draconequues wondered if there was anything he could do to get at least some of his powers back. Little did he know, he wouldn't have to do anything; because he already did.

* * *

><p>"Wakey, wakey!" a familiar voice called, then interrupted by a loud, deafening sound of cymbals. Twilight literally jumped into the air, frantically looking around, her purple eyes stopping on the draconequues. In each of his hands, a cymbal. Being completely awake, but still slightly disoriented, she didn't have much to say.<p>

"... ha?" she tried to process the scene in front of her.

"Discord? You jerk, what are you doing back here, acting like everything is fine and dandy!" her assistants' voice echoed through the house.

"Now, now, there is no need to raise your voice." Discord said wisely, only making Spike even angrier. But Spike didn't seem to want to start another over-the-top fight, not in front of Twilight at least.

"I'm goin' to prepare breakfast." Spike mumbled angrily, marching down the stairs. Twilight in the meanwhile finally recalled everything.

"How was your night?" she asked, almost too calmly, to the Spirits' surprise.

"It was refreshing." he merely replied.

"Good then. I'm glad to see you can take care of yourself despite the lack of your powers." Twilight proceeded with the calm treatment and descended slowly down the stairs. The Spirit flew up, slowly following her.

"While I would like to think, "he started, "that you are no longer upset with me, Twilight Sparkle, because I really couldn't stand another kick in the flank, I can not help but think you're not over our little feud."

Twilight furrowed her brow, before replying:

"I am not angry, Discord. Spike explained everything to me, I know you didn't have any... sinister intentions."

"Ah, I'm glad the little guy was of some use in the end."

"Discord, let me ask you a question."

"Oh, fine."

"When I started to... well, you know...when Spike came and calmed me down.. because I was-"

"Yes, yes, now get to the point." the Spirit hurried her up. Twilight took a breath.

"Were you glad to see me like that?"

Of all the question she could've asked, she had to ask the most embarrassing one. Did she seriously expected him to answer that honestly? Oh sweet, sweet Chaos, by that serious look in her eyes, she probably did. Discord stared at her, becoming angrier with every passing second.

"What a stupid question. I mean seriously, what do you think? I enjoyed it; I laughed with all my heart! Seeing an organized egghead such as you in her weakest moments was the most satisfying sensation ever!" he spoke in one breath, his voice getting slightly louder as he neared the end of his shorts speech.

Discord felt a burst of pride as he told off the nosy pony - that would teach her to ask such trivial things! But to his surprise, she laughed.

"Good." she replied, now with a sincere smile.

Discord decided not to question her logic much. Did she even believe what he said? He was pretty sure he was as convincing as any other time he lied about something.

"Now that we got that confession out of you, I have a present for you."

"Confession? I made no confession!" the Spirit practically let the panic overtake him.

"Fine, fine, just be silent already, I have something to give you. You're going to love it."

"I sincerely doubt it."

"Oh I know you will." she smiled. The pony used her horn to summon something to herself that seemed to be a very tiny and thin red gem, landing into his paw.

"Ta-da~" she tried, but knowing he wouldn't understand. She giggled silly as the expression on the draconequues' face turned into annoyance. He studied the gem trying to figure out what this was about.

"Oh joy, that is definitely something I wanted for EVER." he sarcastically remarked.

"Be still." suddenly her horn shined and filled the room with colorful light. The Spirit covered his eyes with his free hand, but in the next moment the light was gone. The gem disappeared too.

"There you go. You got your present."

"Huh?" the Spirits' face was priceless at that moment.

"So Discord, how about that awesome chocolate milk of yours?"

"... is that your idea of mocking me?" he asked through gritted teeth - by now he was pretty angry.

"I am serious." the pony replied. Discord was about to tell her off, but there was that disgustingly sweet and honest look in her eyes. It took him a few moments to realize what she might've been talking about.

"You're not telling me..." he started, his voice slow and careful, his eyes studying her face. Then he snapped his fingers.

His eyes got as big as plates as a glass of chocolate milk appeared in front of him. In his shock he let it fall onto the floor.

Twilight laughed, ignoring the spilled milk for now.

"Ooh, I wondered forever how am I going to give it to you, haha! Of course you got only a little part of your powers back, I am not silly enough to ask Celestia to return all of it to you, sorry. But I thought you deserved i-" the unicorns' words were lost in a yelp, as the draconequues picked her up and span her around the library like a doll or a small filly, causing her to shriek with surprise and delight. She dared to open her eyes to see the overly happy draconequues laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Spike observed the situation as he flipped the pancakes. If he wasn't sure before if giving Discord part of his powers back was a good idea, it may have changed slightly now; he definitely felt relieved to see the grateful smile on Spirits' face.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Princess Celestia,<em>

_Sorry for contacting you a little bit late, but I have a matter that I want to settle urgently._

_Recently, I seemed to have made progress with Discord; apparently he slowly but surely started to learn of what it means to be a friend. He supposedly showed signs that lead me to a conclusion that he started to think of me more and more as a friend._

_Another thing I noticed though, is that he can easily fall into depression due to the absolute lack of his powers. A single day I spent without entertaining him by trying to involve him into activities he might like threw him into a fully developed state of depression. Therefore, I have made a small plan._

_Since you did tell me he was going to get his bits powers back if he shows any progress, I'd like to test him if he has changed. If he passes the test, I'd like to give him, with your permission of course, the basics of his magical powers back._

_Please respond as soon as possible._

_Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle_

That night, Twilight had to wake up Spike only once to send a message; Celestia responded very soon, seemeingly excited about the news:

_Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

_I am glad to hear that you've made progress with Discord, and I am more than eager to hear the result of the test you're going to put him through; therefore, I am sending you a specifically chosen array of Discord's powers I enhanced into this little gem. A simple spell of release should easily bring him those back; just make sure he holds on to it._

_I believe that you know what you're doing while performing this test, but just in case I put in a measure of precaution; if Discord shows signs of hostility after getting his powers, the scroll I attached contains an advanced spell of power imprisonment which will aid in taking them away; I'm fully convinced you are knowledgeable enough to use it._

_Good luck with your progress,_

_Princess Celestia_

* * *

><p>Twilight definitely wasn't planning on using that power imprisonment spell. Not today.<p> 


	6. Dreams of Loyalty

The whole day went by in excitement and chocolate. Pretty literally.

Discord spent much of the day trying to make Twilight and Spike drink his famous chocolate milk, even after they drank three glasses each; while he was simply summoning it all the time, he kept saying it was made by "his own, original recipe". The unicorn was laughing it off, but she had to admit it had quite a unique taste.

Then he decided he was in charge of making lunch. And by making, he meant summoning a bunch of the oddest food one could find, including the tomato tasting candy and candy covered pizza. The mere sight of the strange food seemed to have excited him like never before.

Naturally, the Spirit didn't spend his time summoning the food only. Apparently Celestia's gem gave him back his tranporting ability, though only on pretty short distances - that didn't stop him from giving a scare to approximately half of the Ponyville population, popping out in strangest of places.

Discord also found out he could ever so slightly change the laws of nature - something that couldn't be avoided, his powers originally being primarily directed to chaotic deeds. He was able to slightly speed up the growth of plants, as well as make them wither, shapeshift into a few smaller animals and, on everyponys' unfortune, mess with the weather to a certain degree. At least those were the things Twilight witnessed - the Spirit spent the entire afternoon wandering in the vicinity of the Everfree forest, trying out his powers on whatever he could find in any way he could think of.

If she didn't know better, Twilight would have thought he was using magic for the first time; he was that excited.

It was pretty late when the Spirit came back to the library; it seemed he spent some time having fun with Pinkie Pie - she entered the library for a few minutes to say good night to Twilight, nearly proceeded into telling her a full fledged story of their evening, just how awesome of a time she had with Discord and thanking him for what was probably a gazillionth time for the cotton candied, chocolate raining cloud he seemed to have made for her. The scene of the two biding each other bye and promising to have fun again sometime brought a delighted smile to Twilight's face.

Twilight was looking up something for a research of hers - Discords' absence that day gave her plenty of time to work. It tired out Spike though, who was already sleeping in his basket.

Twilight noticed with surprise Discord was sleepy as well, his eyes half closed, but a content smile on his mismatched face. It was strange seeing him acting so much like a... well, a pony.

"I can for certain say I never had a better day in my thousands of years long life."

"Oh? I thought you had everything you wanted back when you ruled Equestria; before Celestias' rule."

"Oh well sure, it was quite a prosperous era for me." The Spirit commented. "But I guess one does not know what they have until they lose it. And the feeling of gaining... there are no words to describe it."

Such a mature comment left Twilight stunned.

"Wow. That's pretty... um... I don't know what to say."

"What?" The Spirits' eyebrow arched as he gave the unicorn a questionable look. It was kind of funny that he didn't understand.

"Well... it is not like you to be, um... grateful, I guess?"

Discord seemed to have been lost in thoughts for approximately a second; then he made a grimace, putting his tongue out.

"Ugh, gag! Grateful, me? I am simply happy to have my powers back, I own no gratitude to anyone." he replied snobbishly, standing tall and proud.

Twilight laughed.

"As you say."

"I am serious."

"Fine, you are serious."

"I am."

"I heard you the first two times."

The Spirit was pretty upset by now. Apparently, he cared a lot about other ponies' opinion. It was odd to see someone so desperately wanting to be terrifying, mean and evil in other ponies' eyes, thought Discord didn't have to work hard for that - while she did get used to him, he was still dangerous if not watched after and she knew that she still had a long way to go if she wanted to show him just what is so attractive about not turning houses upside down.

Then again, it only slightly reminded her of Rainbow Dash, who always wanted to be looked upon as tough, strong and cool, to be looked upon as an idol rather than a regular pony.

"You know, you kind of remind me of Rainbow Dash." Twilight finally expressed her thoughts. Her words cause quite a reaction, as the draconequues started giggling uncontrollably.

"Just how in the Equestria am I like your rainbow maned friend? Well, apart from leaving allies alone in times of trouble..."

"Well, you both like to be thought of as something specific, an image you created for yourself; you don't like the idea of someone thinking of you differently than from what you think you are. Not to mention Rainbow Dash is also pretty prone to making bits of trouble every once in a while"

Discord eyed her suspiciously.

"I am not. Grateful."

"Yup. Definitely like Rainbow Dash. That reminds me of that time she refused to admit she loved the book I borrowed her." Twilight laughed, much on the chagrin of the mismatched Spirit. She paid for her insolence by getting a huge shower of bubbles upon her and her book. She gasped in terror.

"The book! No! No!" she used her spell instantly to create a heat wave that burst the bubbles in a second. She dully noticed the book was still wet, thought only slightly. The perfectionist unicorn wasn't happy. Discord raised his arms defensively when she glared at him.

"You asked for it."

Twilight mumbled something he couldn't her and put the book back in its place on the shelf after drying it out as best as she could. The view of her well-organized library reminded her of a warning she was supposed to give him.

"Oh Discord, one more thing. If you ever, [i]ever [/i]decide to mess with my book, I promise you that not only will you lose your magical powers, but you'll probably lose your physical powers for quite some time as well. Think that through." Twilight said sweetly, but with a distinctive note of 'I'll kill you if you disobey'.

Discord gave her a look of disbelief, but as the unicorn turned around and headed upstairs to bed, he had to admit that her creepy sweet talk gave him chills.

Discord pondered whether he should go to sleep. Once Twilight went to bed, he spent some time setting up a prank for her in the morning. In the meanwhile, his sleepiness went away; the sky was pretty beautiful that night though. It invited for a fly.

Deciding a short stroll around the sky might be a relaxing option, as well as a chance to stir up some chaos, he flew out into the dark night. Lunas' Moon was almost full, shining especially brightly. The visibility was pretty good; if he were any more into flying as a hobby, he definitely would have thought it was a beautiful night for a recreational flight.

Apparently a certain pegasus thought so.

"Discord? What are you doing here?" Discord cringed as he heard a painfully familiar sound of Rainbow Dashs' annoying, challenging voice. It took him a moment to notice her, flying directly above him - she has apparently just descended from the heights of the sky where she practiced, being a bit out of breath.

"Can't a draconequues enjoy a stroll through the beautiful night sky, Rainbow Dash?" Discord purred. The pegasus snorted.

"If I were asked about it, you'd still be a statue."

"Why, you're so harsh my dear. I haven't done anything since I was released to deserve such hate."

"I don't care about 'now'! Everypony seemed to have just forgotten the past, forgotten what you have done to us!" Rainbow angrily replied. "Well not me! I will never, ever forgive you for what you have done."

"It is not like I asked for forgiveness though, did I?"

The coolness of draconequues and his teasing smile made her only angrier. It seemed to have amused him as he started laughing lightly.

"Oh that angry face! I kind of missed that expression ever since you first challenged me to a box match in Celestias' dear, and for reasons unknown, amazingly complicated maze."

"The box ma-?" Rainbow paused, having recalled her eagerness to fight the Spirit hand to hand; or in this case, hoof to paw.. or talon. Whatever. The memory of it made her snort, as she smiled a bit smug.

"Oh right; the match you were too afraid to accept."

"Afraid? You will not taunt me with your petty challenge, dear Rainbow Dash. The fact I don't like senseless violence you're trying to drag me into only proves my original theory of you being a local, to use the fashionistas' words, brute."

Discord happily noticed he hit the nerve of the colorful pegasus.

"Alright then Discord, how about this - we both have a pair of wings, don't we? How about a race?"

"By the Chaotic Cupcakes, you're not thinking of actually defeating me in a race, now are you?" Despite the mocking, Discord knew she was serious; the pegasus' determination intrigued him.

"Heck yes I do! Come on! If I ever want to be in the Wonderbolts, I simply gotta have a '[i]defeated the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony in a race[/i]' in my résumé." she teased back, by now in much better mood than when she met him; she couldn't help but think she was probably the first pegasus ever who had a chance to race Discord. The thought excited her.

"Alright fine, Rainbow Dash. You're on. It'll be such a satisfaction to show you just how faster than you one can get."

"It's settled then." Rainbow smiled, now devilishly smiling. "Tomorrow, the Ghastly Gorge, noon."

"Oh the good ol' showdown at high noon. I like it."

The two slowly parted ways, Discord returning to the library and Rainbow Dash most likely going back to her cloudy home. They both eyed each other, their looks full of adrenaline already.

Discord had quite a difficulty falling asleep that night, despite the earlier tiredness. He would've never admitted it to anyone, mostly because he had a feeling Rainbow Dash would make a joke of it, but the truth was, this was the first actual race he was ever participating in.

* * *

><p>"A race with Rainbow Dash? That is a brilliant idea! Maybe you two can even-"<p>

"Don't get your hopes up Twilight Sparkle, your colorful friend is holding a very well rooted grudge against me and I am wasting to time to reciprocate those feelings."

"Rainbow Dash? No way, she's not that ill-willed."

"Oh well, suit yourself; once you see the way she is looking at me, as if she was trying to turn me back into stone, you'll understand.

When Twilight awoke that morning, aside from a very succesful prank where she got a bucket of water over her head the moment she put a hoof out of her bed, another surprise awaited for her, as she heard about Discords' racing plans. She accompanied him, deciding to help being a judge of the race; she thought the race was a great way for the two to connect, even though it seemed Rainbow Dash hated him with passion. On their way, Twilight invited her friends, Pinkie Pie being the first to eagerly agree. Twilight thought it was luck that they had her with them, because Pinkie was mostly responsible for talking Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy into accompany them. They all reluctantly agreed, eyeing the draconequues suspisciously.

Discord, on the other hand, had a hard time being around a bunch of ponies that he wasn't about to turn into plants. Not to mention that these ponies could talk. Oh boy did they talk.

Under the excuse he was going to stretch his wings before the race, he flew ahead of them, leaving the five ponies to travel alone to the Ghastly Gorge. Rainbow Dash was probably there already, as she wasn't at home.

"Well, this is kinda strange." Applejack mumbled as she watched the Spirit flying off swiftly. "I think even Discord thinks this is awkward."

"Well no wonder, that ruffian does not know how to behave around the proper ladies such as we are."

Twilight sighed.

"You just have to get to know him better! He changed at least a bit, I promise!"

"Well, um, I would love to try and make friends with him, but, he doesn't really seem to notice me." Fluttershy added in.

"Well, duh!" Twilight tried to point out. "It is not like you ever tried to - I never saw you coming to visit me while he's around or anything."

"Well, actually," Fluttershy continued, shyly as always, "on several occasions, when I saw him flying around Ponyville and such, I tried to say hello, or start a conversation... but, um, I don't know... he either ignored me or hadn't noticed me. It was one or another."

"What?" Twilight seemed to be disturbed by the discovery. "That is so mean of him! He could at least have... pranked you or something to make a point of noticing you!... Then again, if he didn't prank you... yeah, he probably just didn't notice you."

"Truth to be told, I am not surprised." Applejack started. "You're probably the quietest pony I've ever encountered, Fluttershy. Discord is all hyper all the time. Ya wanna talk to him, ya'll probably have to attract his attention first by doing something out of ordinary."

"I, I guess so." Fluttershy admitted quietly.

"Mayb I should practice my cheering, and use it to call for him louder?" the yellow pegasus took a deep breath, prepared to crumble everything in front of her with the might of her voice.

"Yay!"

Naturally, it was barely audible.

"Oh, oh, you wanna hear about the evening I had yesterday? You'll never guess what Discord gave me!" As Pinkie Pie interrupted the semi serious discussion with her stories of chocolate rains, the five of them finally arrived at the Ghastly Gorge to witness an amusing scene; Discord and Rainbow Dash were staring at each other intensely, they faces a few inches apart. They both had determined looks in their eyes.

"Oh, oh! The Stare challenge!" Pinkie pie exclaimed quietly, motioning her hooves to tell anyone to stay quiet. The mares accepted the game, deciding to wait for the two to finish their contest.

It took them both a couple of minutes, but the Rainbow Dash finally blinked, her agonized expression as her eyes burned throwing Discord into hysterics.

"OK, OK, we're all here." Applejack interrupted Discord's laughing fit. The two looked at the newcomers.

"Finally; I was getting bored with this guy already. Let's race!" Rainbow Dash immediately settled on the start line, eager to show the draconequues who's the best flyer in all of Equestria. Discord lazily followed her.

"Alright then, I think you know the rules. No cheating, flying out of the Gorge, pulling at each others wings and hooves, fighting, tickling, touching on purpose in general, and NO magic."

"Fine with me." Discord positioned himself into the take-off pose. Rainbow followed his example.

"Once you start racing, I will transport us all to the finish line." Twilight added to her friends, before turning to start the race.

"OK then, ready! Set! GO!"

The two took off fast, way too fast for an untrained to notice the incredibly precision of the take off. Discord and Rainbow Dash disappeared into the Gorge in a matter of seconds.

"Well, we'll see how that goes." Twilight commented before using the transport spell.

Then something strange happened.

Twilight found herself in the midair. That wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't about ten meters above the ground, and inside of the gorge itself. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. In a single horrifying second, Twilight put the puzzle pieces together: her spell malfunctioned. She was lucky enough to have successfully transported her friends, but now she had to face a ten meters fall. Pony legs weren't nearly as strong to endure that without consequences; she concluded she would at least end up with a broken leg if she does not do something.

Twilight was lucky to be a pony of quick thinking. About five meters before she hit the ground, she used a spell that didn't stop the fall completely, but did slow it down enough for her to try and land as best as she could. Alas, faith had different plans. She yelled out in pain as her rear left ankle twisted in a painfully awful manner, her voice silently echoing the tall stone walls of the Gorge.

Calming herself down, Twilight tried to use her magic, only to discover the pain in her ankle was distracting her too much. She suppressed the tears of pain and consoled herself quickly: soon Rainbow Dash or Discord will pass by and pick her up. The pain was such a bother though. She will probably have to stay calm for at least for a week.

Minutes passed as Twilight tried to distract herself from the pain by looking for shapes in those few clouds she could see from her position. Just as she thought she might as well try walking, she heard the familiar zooming of Rainbow Dash in the distance, as well as the roars of the monsters living in the Gorge caves. Soon enough, she saw two spots in the distance.

"Was about time!" she sighed. She tried her best to prop up to be more visible, but with her ankle twisted, she couldn't do much.

"Hey~! Over here please!" she waved her hooves at the two as the were approaching, their speed much too fast for her taste. If she hadn't witnessed both of their flight skills by now, she would be worried for their well being. She was more worried about being missed though.

The purple mare gave away a desperate sigh of annoyance when both of the fast flying blurs completely missed her, probably not noticing her.

"Great! Just great!" she angrily argued with herself and stomped her hooves - which was a mistake, as it only hurt her more. She wailed in pain, the tears of both frustration and pain finally managing to sneak out onto her cheeks. She quickly tried to remove them, but the pain was just too strong to stop her crying spree. By now, Twilight Sparkle was pretty much... well... pissed off.

"I hate this..." she mumbled incoherently to herself, flopping onto the ground. A few minutes passes in desperate silence during which she couldn't help but bathe in despair. She felt miserable.

"_Twilight Sparkle, just what in the name of everything Chaotic are you doing_?"

Twilight jerked as the familiar voice addressed her, her mood instantly jumping up.

"Discord! Thank Celestia you saw me!" she breathed out with a relieved smile as she turned around, seeing the mismatched Spirit being out of his breath. Which was strange, considering he was in as good condition as Rainbow; and it took a lot of work to get Rainbow running out of breath.

She couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated when he suddenly approached her with a very... sort of, grumpy, look on his face. It was a strange expression, she haven't seen it before.

"Uh, is everything alri-OW!" the draconequues poked her harshly in the very top of her head, making the unicorn frown.

"What the actual hay, Discord? What is your problem?" Twilight unsuccessfully tried removing the sharp talon digging into her scalp.

"Nothing." Discord hissed, and without another word lifted her onto his back carefully. Twilight felt immensely confused about his behavior, but figured this wasn't the time to think about that - nor she[i] could[/i] think of that, since pain spread all over her left rear leg.

"Hold on." he flew up, bringing Twilight to the finish line in less than a minute. Her friends all stared at both of them in confusion.

"Twilight, where were you?" Rarity started. "We were all transported here and-"

"OH MY GOSH; TWILIGHT YOU'RE HURT!" Fluttershy immediately approached her as she came down from Discords' back, limping.

"Just what in tarnation happened?"

"Ugh, my spell was kind of a failure; it didn't transport me properly, so I ended up in the Gorge hurting myself."

"Oh that is the. Worst! Possible! Thing!" Rarity dramatically whined. Discord looked ever more grumpy and annoyed than before. Twilight figured they best move the things along.

"Uh, anyway, I should be heading to the hospital."

"My house is so much closer and I have experience with this kinds of injuries - please Twilight, let me take care of you!" Fluttershy softly explained, the honest wish to be the one to nurture Twilight in her eyes. Twilight softly smiled to her.

"Alright, thank you Fluttershy. I'd much rather spend some time at your place than in hospital anyway."

The five of them suddenly looked expectantly at Discord, who confusedly returned their looks.

"What?"

"Um, her ankle is twisted?" Applejack started. "You can carry her much easily than the rest of us."

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Fluttershy excused herself quietly, saying she needed to get some bandages and medicine she kept in her shed for Twilights' ankle. The rest of Twilight's friends surrounded her on Fluttershys' couch, checking out her injury and asking how she felt.

Twilight couldn't help but notice Discord was acting odd. Almost like he didn't want to be near her. He was unusually grumpy all the way to Fluttershys' cottage and once he was free of Twilight on his back, he instantly flew away into the blue bright sky.

"What is wrong with Discord? Did something happen?" Twilight asked her friends, wondering if they might have any clue as to what the hay was going on with him.

She was quite surprised when they three of her firends giggled in response; all except for Rainbow Dash who rolled her eyes.

"You guys make me wanna puke." she commented, waving her hoof dismissively.

"What is going on?" Twilight asked.

"Well, Twi, let's just say that all of us, except for maybe Rainbow Dash here, got to know Discord a lil' bit better; an' we think that if ya keep up the good work, he'll turn out to be an acceptable fella."

Twilights' smile was so wide that it caused another laughter among her friends.

"Oh my, I'm so glad to hear that! But, what made you think that? I didn't notice you guys talking much to him."

"Well, it wasn't about talkin', 'twas about what he had done."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see darling," Rarity began, "we were quite surprised when he decided to go back and look for you; Discord is not really known for being, well, friendly." She tried to explain.

"I mean just think about it; the same draconequues who once turned us against each other, the same one who once brought chaos to countless of ponies with not even a blink of en eye, the same one whose ego is bigger than a mountain," Rarity recalled Discord in the maze, comparing his '[i]beautiful[/i]' face with the beauty of a diamond, "has now willingly abandoned the race he took such great importance to, just to go and look for you. I must say, I never expected such an act from him."

Twilights' eyes got as wide as plates.

"He never got to the finish line?"

She tried to make sense of this. The only solution that came to her mind was that Discord [i]did[/i] see her down there in the Gorge, but pretended not to... could it be his conscience told him to go back and get her? Could it be he deemed her worthy and friendly enough to deserve such a treatment?

Could it be he was genuinely... worried, about her?

All the mares jumped when Twilight started laughing abruptly.

"What is it?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise.

"Oh nothing, nothing... I just thought of something... well, stupid and totally silly. Never mind, really."

"Is everything OK?" Fluttershy appeared at the door, having returned from her shed with the necessary equipment.

"Everything is just fine, Fluttershy. Thank you for your help. I can't wait to just get home and read, I think I've had quite enough of excitement for now."

* * *

><p>"Twilight? What is wrong with your leg?" Spike immediately approached his purple friend as she entered the library. Her rear leg was in bandages and with two little planks that kept her hoof her leg in place. The twist of her ankle was a bit more serious than she thought, so she needed to wear them for a couple of days. She spent a good deal of the afternoon at Fluttershys' place, talking to her friends, and patiently waiting for Fluttershy to adjust her leg right. The sun was alreay setting.<p>

"I had a little accident." she smiled softly. Behind her, Rainbow Dash snorted.

"A little accident? If you weren't thinking quick and magicked yourself safely, you could've been seriously injured!

"Just tell me what happened already!" the little dragon demanded.

Twilight slowly limped her way to the center of the library, followed by Rainbow Dash, where she sat down at the table, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, that's so better. So uh, this is what happened..." Twilight told Spike the whole story, every once in a while interrupted with Rainbow Dash's specific statement that she was the one who won the race in the end.

"So, where is Discord anyway? He seemed to be angry when he left, I want to talk to him." Twlight asked Spike, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I, I haven't seen him since you guys left..."

"... Wait, you mean, he's not home yet? He never came back to the library?"

"No." Spike replied a bit carefully. Both him and Rainbow Dash eyed Twilight with newborn worry - the purple mare seemed to have been upset.

"What are you worried about, Twilight? That he might try and cause some chaos? Because if he does, I'll slap his flank across Equestrian skies!" Rainbow threatened, but Twilight shook her head.

"It's not that... he just seemed upset with something, is all."

"Huh, I couldn't care less!" Rainbow replied, her heartless comment making Twilight frown.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash, why can't you just give him a chance?"

Rainbow didn't answer, only kept pouting for reasons that remained a mystery to Twilight. Then again, not really; Rainbow Dash was an awfully proud pegasus.

"I'll see you tomorrow - don't overwork that leg of yours, you hear? G'night, Spike!"

" 'Night, Dash."

As the door closed behind the colorful mare, Spike patted saddened Twilight on the shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

She gave him a soft smile, melancholic mood reflected in her eyes.

"I am. I just wish I knew what was wrong with him."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon. I was just about to prepare something to eat; are you hungry? We can spend some time on that research of Star Swirl the Bearded's notes!"

"That doesn't sound bad. Get us some snacks and tea then," Twilight suggested, with a renewed, happy smile on her face, "we're in for a relaxing night of reading!"

The two spent the evening researching on the notes on a casual atmosphere, every once in a while starting a conversation that had nothing to do with research, and feasting on the snacks. It helped Twilight forget the trouble bringing draconequues; for now, she could enjoy Spikes' company, tasty food and her lovable books.

The time passed fast, the two of them enjoying themselves way too much to notice - in fact, Twilight, probably due to the somewhat stressful day, fell asleep unintentionally, together with Spike on the fluffy pillows they brought for themselves in the library.

Once again, Twilight had a good old running course of odd dreams running through her head. She was well aware of the fact she was dreaming though - in fact, it was the most self conscious dreaming sequence she ever had.

After a whirl of unmemorable, unreasonable and colorful dreams, she found herself in a forest that contained way too much of bright color yellow - sure, it was a nice color, but its brightness, and the fact the mentioned color decorated both the sky, the ground and even the trees, made her eyes hurt. As if on cue, the colors started changing, the sky becoming sea green, and the grass bright red. The trees changed the colors all the time which, while kind of dizziness inducing, was fun to see.

Just as she started wondering what was with this colorful dream, she saw a familiar Spirit laying on one of the tree branches. He didn't seem to notice her. In fact, he was seemingly asleep.

"Wow, that's pretty defined." Twilight thought to herself, finding it funny for her dream to be so realistic - a Spirit of Chaos in a chaotic surrounding.

"Discord! Hey, Discord!" she eagerly called for him, wondering what her actions will cause - for as we all know, dreams can easily change drastically with a single word or action.

But nothing irregular happened - the Spirit awoke at the sound of her voice and stretched, seemingly still not taking notice of her.

"Oh, what a bother..." He mumbled. He looked around, and upon noticing her suddenly yelled out in surprise, which caused Twilight to yell out in return and look around herself, searching for the source of his racket.

"What? What is going on?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"You, Twilight Sparkle!" the Spirit angrily descended from a tree and approached her, poking her harshly in the chest. lowering himself to meet her eye level.

"What in the almighty Chaos are you doing in MY dream?"

"What? Your dream?" she arched an eyebrow, making draconequues sigh dramatically.

"Oh, do not pretend with me missy - you are spying on me and my dreams!"

"What in the hay are you talking about! I thought I was dreaming- wait, you're just a dream, what am I talking about anyway!"

"You're calling me a segment of your imagination? While I'm sure you fantasize about my handsome face a lot, I can assure you I am the real, one and only, Discord!"

Twilight decided to let the embarrassing remark about fantasizing slip by.

"Ugh, what is going on here? This dream is so confusing! And for your information, Discord, or whoever, or whatever you are, I have no idea how to enter somepony's dream! I think that's even illegal without consent of the dreaming subject, too."

Discord seemed to have started believing her. He pondered for a moment or two, and then let out a victorious '[i]ha![/i]' and smiled so widely it was almost creepy. For some reason, he looked over at her with an amused smile, as he laid down on the ground, like a (part) lion he was, to meet her eye level.

"What?"

"I just got it - I know why you wandered into my dream, Twilight Sparkle. You probably aren't going to like what I am about to propose though."

"Just say it already, Discord."

"Well, it is possible to enter somepony else's dream instead of dreaming your own; but that happens rarely, mostly with ponies with great magical ability and only in certain cases. It bring us to the most probable conclusion of why you are in my dream."

"Really? What is it?"

"You were probably dying to see me." Discord finished, a most devilish tone in his voice and most playful look in his eyes. If Twilight had any less self control, she would probably ran away. It was obvious his reply embarrassed her to a certain degree.

"What is it then, Twilight Sparkle? Be quick, I want to sleep again."

"But if we're in your dream, doesn't that mean you're already sleeping?" Twilight couldn't help but ask, forgetting her wish to talk with him for a moment.

"I am, but this way, I'll sleep twice as much, gaining extra energy."

So that was why he seemed so full of energy back when he first appeared in Ponyville. Twilight was pretty impressed by such a complicated spell, but decided there were other matters at hand.

"Discord, are you angry with me for some reason?"

The Spirit looked at her lazily, a playful smirk still lingering on his face.

"I have no reason to be, now do I, Twilight Sparkle."

"I... I guess not-"

"Then don't break your pretty little purple egg-head of yours over nothing! Ha, did you just see what I did?" the Spirit laughed at his 'head' joke. If it was even qualified to be called a joke. Despite not liking being called an egghead, Twilight tried hard to suppress a smile - the action that seemed to have bothered him.

"Come now, Twilight Sparkle!" he sing sang, as he reached for her cheeks and stretched them into a badly formed smile.

"Where is that wonderful smile! I know it is in there somewhere~" he started to baby talk with her, which reflected so ridiculously on his face that she not only smiled, but laughed loudly too.

"Much better! I will have no sulking faces or hidden smiled in my dreams." the Spirit commented. Suddenly a sound was heard in the distance, making both of them look up. Discord seemed to have known what was going on and he didn't look too happy.

"Aww, shucks."

Shucks?

"The morning is already approaching. Time really does fly fast when you're having fun."

"It is? How can you tell?"

"It is my dream, I can tell easily." he turned towards her. Twilight noticed the dream world she was in started to disappear, seeing the trees vanish slowly into the air in the distance and the sky growing colorless.

"Time to say goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I'll see you back in the library. Before we part though, here's some food for thought." he added in the end, and leaned in towards her.

"Was this all just a dream, or was I really here?" he purred as he used his talon finger to gently tickle her nose.

It took Twilight about two seconds to realize just how much of a 'troll' he was at that moment.

"Discord, you-" she couldn't finish her sentence before falling into a vertigo as the world around her collapsed, the last thing she heard being Discord's all too known laughter.

Twilight woke up. She still felt that tickle on her nose, but had no way of finding out whether it was real or dream induced.

"Oh, good morning, sleepy head! It was about time you get up!" Spike cheerfully greeted her, immediately returning the box of ice cream back in the refrigerator, hoping Twilight wouldn't notice. Twilight didn't comment gluttonous little dragon, deciding to catch him unprepared later.

"Morning, Spike." she managed as she tried to stand up, only to have a sharp pain spread over her rear leg. She had already forgotten about it.

"Ugh! Oh, I should've known how troublesome this will be."

"Oh, so you'll have to spend some time at home - no biggie."

" 'No biggie'? Spike, I can't walk. And if I tried, the only one who could match my slowness is Tank."

"There, you'll have someone to hang out with." Spike tried to humour her. It didn't quite work.

"Heheh... I'm going to make breakfast." he left.

Twilight used her solitude to once again replay the events of the dream, desperately trying to connect the dots, to find something that could tell her whether the dream she had was fruit of her imagination, or the actual dream of Discord. It was so real, she remembered it all so clearly... yet she could prove nothing.

"I hope you slept well, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight yelped with surprised as the Spirit came out of thin air, transporting himself from wherever he was before into the library, and startled the living daylights out of her.

"Discord, for goodness sake!" Twilight panicked.

Of course, he laughed.

Dear Celestia, how she came to love that laugh.


	7. Lesson Kindness

"So, Discord, um, what do you think of Fluttershy?"

The silence Twilight got in response made her suspicious, so she turned around from cleaning the shelves to face the Spirit on the other side of the library - the dumbfounded look on his face was something that she was probably supposed to expect, but in fact didn't.

"Now where did that question came from?" Discord asked, curiosity in his voice, as he flew up towards her, staring at her dusting skills, but in fact waiting for her response.

"Oh, no reason. Well, actually..." she admitted, drawing a wise sigh of realization from the draconequues.

"You see, Fluttershy is really eager to meet you, to get to know you a little bit better."

"Is that so..." the Spirit pondered, lazily drawing circles on the cover of 12th volume of Equestrian History with his talon finger.

It was late morning. Twilight and Spike had cleaning duties to do that day, so they were stuck in the library. For whatever reason, the Spirit lingered around as well, having idle chit chats with both of them and every once in a while producing some sort of tiny prank or amusing spell for the small dragon.

Twilight's leg was much better once Zecora heard of her injury - she immediately visited her with her own potion that tasted worse than anything Twilight had the chance to drink in her life, including Celestia's secret stash of what she called super secretive fun serum. Twilight never got to find out what that was.

The potion Zecora brought her helped her leg recover much faster, Twilight being able to run only two days later, though for that she had to go through a night of pain in her ankle, as well as some odd dream where a small creature visited her bed and told her that "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Twilight Sparkle must not be here when that happens" and "Twilight Sparkle is not save in Ponyville; go home, Twilight Sparkle". Needless to say, Twilight was reading too much of 'Harry Trotter and the Stable of Secrets".

"Yeah. I mean just a day or two ago, she told me she saw you around Ponyville and that you never gave her a chance to talk to you."

"She didn't seem all too eager to talk, really. Little Fluttershy is all too quiet around me. I wonder why?" Discord replied, ending his sentence with feigned innocent tone. Spike squealed in delight when Discord used his magic to give him a long fluffy black beard.

"Wait, so you did notice she was trying to speak to you? Why didn't you let her, then?"

"Oh Twilight Sparkle, you really do disappoint me at times for such a smart pony." Twilight pouted as Spike giggled, then fell silent equally fast.

"Now, now, don't get angry dear. You see, I just thought it was pretty obvious that little Fluttershy, as an Element of Kindness and being so naturally meek simply couldn't get along with someone as wonderfully chaotic as I am. Besides," he continued, giving Twilight a deadpan look, "I would most likely make her cry, and then I would have to put up with your boring lectures for what I did, maybe even a punishment and so on and so forth..."

Twilight had to admit that she couldn't quite imagine the two getting along. Poor Fluttershy would probably took all his teasing and pranks too seriously; not to mention that her kind attitude and willingness to help would probably be a good mocking point for Discord. Twilight more than once warned him that he'll definitely be in serious trouble if he ever tried to do anything mean to her; Fluttershy was simply too much of a nice pony to be pranked by someone who could be as cruel as Discord.

As she was cleaning, one of the books fell, raising some dust; enough to make Twilight sneeze loudly and in process jerking so strongly she shook the whole shelf. A few books and parchments fell on the floor.

"Chaos be with you!" Discord offered his blessings, to which Twilight merely rolled her eyes. As she used her magic to lift the books that fell down, she noticed another forgotten research - the one on Discord.

Twilight put it away a few days ago, thinking she would get to it these days. But the dusty parchment reminded her of just how much of a slack she cut to the Spirit. She put the rest of the books away, and dusted the parchment. It contained a few pages, including general information on Discord, bit about draconequues she could find from the books and everything she ever wrote on his magic. But aside from that, nothing much.

"Discord, um... how do you feel telling me about the draconequues and, well, um, your powers and such?"

The Spirit chuckled.

"Well wouldn't you like to know." he teasingly responded.

"Oh come on~ I really, really want to know more about your species! And the magic, it's incredible! The books never say anything concrete!"

"While you flatter me, I guess you'll have to look harder~" the draconequues sing sang, making the unicorn more frustrated with every second of his teasing.

"Ugh, fine! Whatever!" Twilight turned her back on him, when his upside down head suddenly popped out in front of her, him standing right behind her.

"We never got to settle that riddle challenge I proposed, Twilight Sparkle." The Spirit reminded her, his mismatched eyes confusing her even more now that the were upside down.

"Perhaps this could be the opportunity you were looking for."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, a bit confused. The Spirit flew up again, the familiar smile on his face - whenever they were about to play a game, or when he was up to something, that smile would come out.

"I'll be giving you a set of riddles!" He started in a very business like tone. "For each one you solve, you'll automatically come to posses just bits of information about draconequues; but I will add in more for your research or even answer you a question or two, since solution of a single word can't tell you much."

"You'll be giving me information on my research through riddles?" Twilight asked skeptically. While she loved riddles, she doubted she could learn anything from them.

"Precisely!" Discord seemed happy that she got it so soon. "You'll have a day to solve every riddle and you can ask for more than one of them at a time! But if you fail to solve a single one," this time he sneered evilly, "I will be allowed to get away with pranking Fluttershy once."

Even thought her brain was instantly screaming at her not to accept the challenge under such conditions, Twilight wanted to think it through; but the Spirit didn't give her any time, as he leaned in and said: "A pony as smart as you should be capable of solving a couple of riddles, if I am not mistaken."

Almost automatically, the competitive side of Twilight responded.

"I did it once and I'll do it again Discord! And I'll do so right now!" she smiled.

"Brilliant! Let us start then." he snickered and flew around her happily, narrating his riddle:

"_I am what was sought after since the end first began,  
>in every war, in every battle, I'm the best but impossible plan.<br>Both the rich and the poor looked all over for me,  
>But nopony could have what I am, except for the Almighty Three.<em>"

Twilight tried to make sense of the confusing riddle.

"Are you sure you're not pranking me?" she cocked an eyebrow. Discord deadpanned.

"Riddles are serious business, my dear." he replied coldly. Twilight shrugged.

"If you say so... give me another riddle."

"One more? Aren't you taking a bit too much of a burden onto yourself?"

"No way, I want to find out as much about you as I can as soon as possible! I can solve some silly riddle. No problem!" she smiled confidently.

Discord chuckled evilly.

"Pranking Fluttershy will be such a sweet, sweet feeling." he said devilishly before narrating once again:

"_This time, it's Generosity who can bring you far,  
>remember the names aren't all they are.<br>What you're looking for is not as common as it seems,  
>but it is as usual as every nights' dreams<em>."

Twilight felt excitement in her rise as she wrote down the next riddle, thinking that she already figured part of it out - he mentioned Generosity and addressed it as 'who' - he was probably talking about Rarity for some reason; maybe she was able to help her. It was worth a shot.

"One more! Just one more, and I'll start working on them!" she pleaded, the excitement inside her uncontainable. The Spirit cocked an eyebrow, but didn't' say anything: instead, he started to narrate the last riddle:

"_Knowledge and learning, the books and the scrolls,  
>all that is nothing to me, I lie in 'their' souls,<br>never to be polished, nurtured or tamed.  
>One of 'them' all shall have my name famed.<em>"

Eagerly, Twilight wrote the last riddle down. She felt like a little filly again; when she was small, her dad sometimes gave her riddles or puzzles and the two would spent the whole afternoon together, solving them and trying to find out the different ways to solution. The nostalgia overwhelmed her. She hadn't even noticed the silly smile that crept onto her face, but the certain Spirit did.

"Now what is that wonderful smile about? Did you get stricken by a Spring Fever?" he teased.

"W-what, no!" Twilight blushed and smiled shyly at his suggestion, her embarrassment making him chuckle.

"I just remembered the good old times when I was just a small filly... I had these challenges and puzzles of a sort sometimes put before me. They were so much fun to do with my dad." Twilight reminisced the good old times in her childhood.

"Aren't we sentimental today." The Spirit quietly said to himself.

"Well, I'll leave you to your little quest Twilight Sparkle - I on the other hand, have some pranks to pull off." with those words, he left Twilight and Spike in half cleaned library.

"Spike, continue this work without me please, I have a few riddles to rid!" her pun didn't seem to amuse the little dragon who now had twice as much work on his claws.

"Ehehe~" she laughed nervously. "See ya!" and then she galloped into the park, the place were she could have all the peace she needed, on her favorite bench.

"Discord and his riddles." Spike mumbled. "If his plan was to make anyponys' life harder, he sure succeeded."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twilight had the three riddle before her on paper, for the start unsure which one should she try to figure out.

Rarity was mostly busy at this time of the day, so she figured she might leave that one for later. The last riddle sounded a bit too vague, so she decided to go for the first one.

"_I am what was sought after since the end first began..._" she repeated the first verse. Since the end first began... the first beginning of the end? But what was the end? What was the beginning for that matter?

"_In every war, in every battle, I'm the best, but impossible plan..._" something like an ultimate weapon, perhaps? Something impossible... something every soldier would want? Something of huge destructive or protective power but unattainable? The choices were many on this one. She continued.

"_Both the rich and the poor looked all over for me,  
>But nopony could have what I am, except for the Almighty Three...<em>"

Both rich and the poor... that was probably a way to say that everyone, regardless of how much money they had or how prosperous or not they lived, wanted it and there were probably ways of seeking it that didn't require money or fortune. But the last part confused her... the Almighty Three? Whoever or whatever that was referring to, those three had something nopony and nothing else had.

"Urgh, I feel like I'm so close to the solution!" Twilight grumbled, countless thoughts running through her head.

The first beginning of the end... the end... the end of a trip, the road... the end of an adventure? Nah, too specific. The end of something, somepony... the end of somepony? The end of life?

"Death?" Twilight asked out loud, wondering if it might be it. It was definitely the closest she got to the solution of the first line. She scribbled "death" in tiny letters next to it, then continued.

"Best, but impossible plan in every war. What plan could be so great, but impossible to pull off, that could bring victory?" Twilight recalled her studies of Equestrian history, remembering the greatest deeds of Equestrian ponies; the battle at Thermoponylae, where a mere bunch of three hundred ponies managed to fend of thousands of rampaging manticores.

Or the legendary plan where a brave pony Odyhay hid his soldier into a giant wooden alicorn and presented it to the savaging tribes of Diamond Dogs that tormented the cities at that time. Over the night, they came out and captured all of the tribes' members, restoring the peace to the region.

But those stuff weren't impossible! Just... improbable, or difficult to achieve.

"According to the next two lines, it is a plan that no pony could ever have... except for the 'Almighty three'..." What or who was that referencing? The only 'almighty' person she knew of would be...

Celestia? Her sister Luna? Who else was the-

"Of course! It would be just like him, putting himself into the riddle!" Twilight laughed; the Almighty Three, divine Princesses Celestia and Luna that once governed the Elements of Harmony, and Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. So, what did the three have in common?

"The ultimate power?" Twilight questioned, but concluded it was not exactly right - while both Princesses and Discord were powerful, they were never unstoppable. It would explain the perfect battle plan, though.

"Something similar to God-like status? What would Gods have in- of course!" she finally realized, a victorious smile on her face. It was what everpony wanted, but will never have; it was what would bring victory in any battle; and it was something only Celestia, Luna and Discord had.

"The answer to the first riddle is **Immortality**!"

Her words summoned the Spirit right before her, startling her a little. He was floating in the air in a relaxed position, and for some reason, sipping tea. Much like a gent.

"Well, well, well, I must say I am impressed; even though it took you long enough to crack the first riddle."

"I told you I would! Now come on," she summoned her quill and parchment and settled herself on the grass, "let's hear your first lesson!" she gave him a radiating smile.

Discord rolled his eyes, sipping some more tea slowly. Then he vanished the cup away, and started:

"You see dear, draconequues are fairly rare creatures, much like Alicorns - but while Alicorns are thus considered royalty and are slowly growing in numbers, draconequues' don't have much of a fame going along with their species. We are very seclusive creatures, living in places that nopony probably ever got to and survived to tell the tale."

"Survived? You mean you'd-" Twilight gasped, but Discord quickly calmed her with following words.

"Oh no, dear, we're not brutes - well, not all of us anyway. In fact, the draconequues species is quite knowledgeable of the good and evil, of the world and its ways, despite their detachment from it. The thing is, we live in places that are hard to reach and dangerous to live in; even strong winged pegasi and powerful unicorns would rarely wander into our territory, but when they did, they'd never come back."

He paused to summon himself some cotton candy, which, in Twilight's opinion, was totally inappropriate considering what he was telling her.

"So, while there's no such thing as affirmative information, it is our belief that our immortality was born as a form of immunity against the harsh conditions we live in."

Twilight's eyes shined from all the information she gathered.

"You seem pleased." Discord noticed with a smile as he flew down next to her, nesting himself neatly on the bench and observing her writing.

"_Pleased_? I'm much more than pleased! You gave me much more information than I expected! Thank you so much!" Discord chuckled, noticing that her excitement was so big even her magic had trouble writing without shaking the quill slightly.

It was a nice sight seeing her so happy for some reason; seeing her so happy just because of his little input. The very next moment, he mentally slapped himself for such a dandy thought.

"But... wait." Twilight was suddenly confused.

"I thought you were immortal because you gained the power of Elements of Disharmony. Just what is the difference then-"

"Sorry dear, but if you want to know anything more, you'll have to answer the next riddle~" the Spirit sign alonged, making Twilight moan in the unpleasant surprise.

"Oh~ but I have just one more question!"

"It can wait, can't it?"

"But I'm **SO** curious~" Twilight whined again, half giggling at this point, knowing she sounded silly and that her pleads were futile.

"Oh, you're _so_ cute when you're curious!" the Spirit painfully pinched her cheek, laughing as he did. Twilight glared at him, but on the inside, she was burning of embarrassment - cute? Seriously? The draconequues must've been up to something fishy to sweet talk with her like that.

"Feel free to declare your riddle solution out loud once you've solved it; do watch the timing will you? Before you called me I was in the middle of an excellent prank in the Mayor's Office."

Before Twilight managed to question what in the Equestria was he even doing there, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Having spent quite some time working on the first riddle, Twilight figured Rarity is probably available at this time of the day; she slowly trotted towards to the Carousel Boutique, thinking through the second riddle.

_This time, it's Generosity who can bring you far,  
>remember the names aren't all they are.<em>

While it was possibly about Rarity, she had no idea what the second line might've pointed to.

_What you're looking for is not as common as it seems,  
>but it is as usual as every nights' dreams.<em>

That downright didn't make any sense! So it is both common and uncommon? Both part of every day yet hard to find? Urgh.

When she finally entered the Boutique, she was met with an non ordinary sight - Rarity was napping on her divan.

She must've overdone it again. It was rare to catch her sleeping like this though.

"I'll just hang around until she wakes up." Twilight said to herself, sitting in a nearby sofa, and studying the riddle once again.

Her attention kept going back to Rarity though, and she had spent quite some time not solving anything. More than an hour passed for sure and time just continued to slip. Our of all times she needed a rest...

"Generosity can bring me far, my flank." she mumbled. "You rarely go to sleep during the day anyway, why all of a sudden- wait. Rarely." she repeated to herself.

"Rarity rarely does rare things." she continued nonsensically, excitement growing.

"That's it! Names are not all they are, each of them has a meaning! Rarity - rarity is not common, but then again, there are so many rare things in the world it makes it common! Thank you, Rarity!" she ran out and slammed the door behind her, waking up the fancy unicorn.

"W-wha? What is going on? Who goes there?" she looked around in confusion, but saw nopony.

"Oh well... might as well continue with my work now that I'm awake." with those words she lay back just for a moment, and unwillingly fell asleep again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The night has already fallen and Moon was already in the sky when Twilight left Raritys' boutique.

"The answer to the second riddle is **Rarity**!" Twilight spoke aloud once she found herself in the park again - she really didn't feel like shouting in the middle of the town.

When Discord appeared this time, he was in pose that absolutely gave away what he was about to do - in his eagle claw, a pair of scissors, while his lion paw was in position like it pulled something in the air. Like a ponys' tale, or mane.

"... oops." he gave her an innocent smile as he made the scissors disappear.

"Discord, please leave other pony's manes alone." she said through a half smile. He laughed. There was something oddly innocent in his laugh.

"Oh, it is all just in good fun - I would give Pinkie her mane back."

The undeniably funny image of Pinkie with no mane came into Twilights' mind; it was impossible not to laugh.

"If you were to bring it back, I guess it is fine. Just don't freak her out too much."

"Rules, rules, rules~" the Spirit sang.

"Anyway, I've solved the second riddle."

"I noticed." Discord replied, not sounding all too happy.

"Two riddles in an afternoon and an evening. I wonder if you'll manage to solve the last one before tomorrow at two o'clock."

"You don't have to worry about that." Twilight bragged, as she once again summoned her writing equipment and sat in the grass.

Discord flew around her and descended once more on the bench.

"What do you want to know?"

"Just what is the difference between you and the other draconequues? I mean, where are the limits of their powers? Just how powerful are the draconequues?"

It was interesting, the way she wanted to know so much, asking so many questions. It was also kind of amusing to have all that knowledge, as well as being the only one who could give that knowledge to her.

"Draconequues powers vary strongly from specimen to specimen," he started, "because the draconequues learn, teach and use magic differently than unicorns and Alicorns, by different laws. As such, the kind of books you read can not help us. Draconequues are all on their own. Some draconequues never even get to use their magic properly if then don't polish it themselves during childhood." he finished.

Twilight's quill was rapidly gliding over the parchment, making small side notes and questions she might have for the Spirit. She had no idea the draconequues' used magic by a different set of laws, but she figured since there were no books on it, Discord probably couldn't tell her much about it.

"Wow, I can't believe how much I got in only one day! With this I can already start a proper researching paper!"

She continue to ramble something about how proud Celestia will be and started to continuously bounce in circles. Discord slapped himself mentally for the second time that day.

"Ugh enough, you're making my stomach twist." he groaned, using his still limited powers to trip the bouncing unicorn - as she fell in the grass, she was surprised for a moment, but then just continued laughing.

"What has gone into you?" Discord wondered out loud.

"You're acting much like Pinkie Pie right now."

"S-sorry~" Twilight managed through the giggles, "I'm just _so_ happy!"

"Gag~"

He flew up gracefully.

"Enjoy your little laughing spree while you can, you still have one riddle to solve. Until then, Twilight Sparkle." and he was gone in a flash of light.

Twilight just kept lying in the grass, feeling like she had a day full of accomplishes.

"Twilight?"

"Oh! Hey Spike! What are you doing here?"

The little dragon walked over to her. She got up and noticed he carried a large basket, and that, thankfully, he no longer had a beard.

"Oh I was out to get some groceries. We were seriously lacking some stuff like-"

"Like ice cream?" Twilight interrupted with a teasing smile as she used her magic to pull out a pretty big bucket of vanilla flavored ice cream. Spike blushed slightly. Twilight laughed.

"It's OK Spike - in fact, I'm really in the mood for some and then maybe we can play some games this evening, what do you say?"

His eyes spread in surprise and delight. It was rare that the two of them did game nights, so he definitely wasn't going to miss the opportunity.

"Y-yes, totally! Let's go right away!" he said happily as he placed himself swiftly on her back, and held her warmly. Twilight smiled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Mmm... Spike, stop that... hehehe, stooooop." Twilight wiggled and laughed playfully as she felt a tickling, teasing sensation on her neck.

"Spike! **Stop** it already!"

Her blood froze when she heard a familiar snicker.

"**Discord**? What the hay!" she immediately pulled the sheets over herself, watching the Spirit pulling his tail away from her and rolling on the floor laughing, banging his fists against it.

"Discord, what are you doing here?" she asked, now completely awake - last night her and Spike stayed up late, her trying to teach him how to play Chess Mess - while Spike liked the messed up version of chess, he had no skill whatsoever for it. The two ended up playing mostly ignoring the rules and with personal additions to the rules, much like when Discord and Twilight first played it.

"Oh, I just wanted to remind you you have a riddle to solve is all."

Twilight laughed as she stood up and approached the mirror, brushing her mane.

"I think I'll manage, Discord. After all, I do have a whole morning to solve it."

"I wouldn't be so sure." The Spirit replied wickedly. The brush Twilight was using suddenly stopped in the air.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked carefully.

"Have you checked the time dear?" he asked back. Twilight's pupils got tiny as she looked out the window - the clock tower was showing 1:30 pm.

"**WHAT**?" her loud questioning of the time woke up her assistant.

"Looks like somepony stayed up for too long last night~" Discord said in delight.

"Discord, if I discover you had something to do with this, the deal is off!" Twilight hissed, startling the Spirit.

"I didn't do anything, dear!" The Spirit said playfully as he sat on the window sill. Twilight had no choice but to open her research paper and look for the last riddle as fast as possible.

"Spike, get me tea. Lots and lots of strong tea! I need to solve this riddle immediately or Fluttershy is done for!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike seemed to have comprehended the difficulty of the situation as he rushed down into the kitchen. It took her a good few minutes to find the paper she was looking for.

"OK, I can do this... I MUST do this... for poor, POOR Fluttershy..." she took a deep breath and repeated the riddle:

"_Knowledge and learning, the books and the scrolls,  
>all that is nothing to me, I lie in 'their' souls,<br>never to be polished, nurtured or tamed.  
>One of 'them' all shall have my name famed.<em>"

Her brain was racing and she was panicking. Her thoughts incoherent and messed up she spent, she tried to spend at least 15 minutes calming herself down with tea and breathing exercises before being able to approach the riddle with rational attitude.

"Let's see... the riddle mentioned "them" two times... it could be referencing the draconequues, unless it has a deeper meaning, but that is probably it... ok, something... something that resides in souls... huh..."

Discord stuck around this time, curious as to how her process of solving a riddle will go.

"For some reason, this riddle sounds so familiar, but I can't point my hoof at it." Twilight mumbled to herself. Discord did his best to stay quiet.

"One of 'them' shall have my name famed? What, what could it possibly be?"

"Five more minutes, dear."

Twilight stared at the riddle, confused out of her mind, and panic slowly started rising in her again. Precious seconds passed by and she still didn't have an answer.

"A minute." she heard the wicked voice of the Spirit, a lump stuck in her throat.

"Come on Twilight! You have less than a minute left!" Spike bit his claws in anxiety.

Then, suddenly, something started to shift in her mind. The words started slowly to make sense.

"Knowledge as we know it is nothing to it..."

_30 seconds.  
><em>  
>"It is something that is inside of a person, untouchable, yet available...perhaps..."<p>

_15 seconds._

"One of the draconequees shall have its name famed!" suddenly the pieces fell to their rightful place.

_3..._

"The answer-"

_2..._

"-to the second-"

_1..._

"-riddle is-"

_0._

Just as her tongue got into the position to pronounce the words, her mouth remained magically stuck together and her answer was replaced with loud banging of the clock tower. It never sounded so loud to her, never so terrifying. Once the banging stopped, her mouth opened, and she gasped out the words too late:

"**Magic**! The answer to the second riddle is **Magic**!"

"Ooh~ sorry Twilight Sparkle! Looks like I'll have a lot of fun with Fluttershy this afternoon!" The Spirit giddily flew through the air, swirling and turning. Twilight fell onto her knees, letting out a way too dramatic "_noooooo_!" that got Spike laughing hard; he shut up the moment she shot him a glare. Almost automatically, knowing her chances to persuade him were pretty much close to zero, Twilight followed Discord.

"Oh Discord please, _please_ don't do anything to her!"

He seemed to be pretty dumbfounded by the fact Twilight was literally pleading him for something.

"But Twilight Sparkle, my dear, we had a deal~" he said in the most parenting tone he could possibly manage.

"I know, I know! But-but Fluttershy is so timid! The smallest of things scare her! If she finds out about all of this, and you prank her, not only will you never get a chance to befriend her, but she'll also be angry with me! I'll make it up to you, I promise!" the unicorn panicked, her hooves making a rapid motion tapping on the wooden floor; this obviously meant a lot to her.

Discord observed her for a second.

"_Fine_." he pouted.

"**Huh**?" Twilight made the dumbest face without realizing - her funny face expression had, like many times before, made the Spirit laugh.

"Fine, fine, I won't prank Miss Sensitive then. But I can't say the same for anyone else."

"What are you planning?" Twilight questioned carefully, but Discord just shrugged and chuckled.

"Don't make that face, smile suits you so much better."

"Again with that!"

"With what?"

"You're being so nice to me!" Twilight protested his politeness. Her words seemed to have gotten the Spirit thinking.

"You're right." he suddenly said. Awkwardness ensued as Discord probably wondered why WAS he so nice all of a sudden and Twilight tried not to show just how strongly her heart started to beat at the sight of confused draconequues. 


	8. It all started with a Pie

Next three days passed in relative normality - well, a slightly different normality, the kind everypony had to get used to. Twilight Sparkle couldn't not feel pride inside of her growing by each day; she was proud of Discord, but of herself as well - she never knew Discord could change so much. And it all happened in about two weeks!

It was now a regularity to see Discord on the streets of Ponyville, but it was very irregular to see him actually talking to somepony. Aside from Pinkie Pie, who became his number one pranking buddy, Twilight saw him actually having a lengthy conversation with Dr. Whooves and Derpy - a very normal, almost serious conversation.

The three were discussing the possibilities of space and time travel through periods of hundreds of years and even parallel worlds. Where did they get an idea to talk about that, Twilight didn't know, although for a moment she was worried ponies have heard of her little time traveling accident. Too many books, probably.

Of course, there was Twilight herself; but while she considered him a friend, he didn't seem to be thinking the same. More than once, she felt pretty sad over that fact, but decided it was just logical - after all, she wasn't half as interesting to him as Pinkie Pie for example.

That day, she accidentally ran into him tasting one of Applejack's pies from her stall - apparently, he was teasing and bothering poor Applejack so much, she gave him a complementary apple pie just to make him go away. Once he actually ate the pie though, he was very interested in how she made them taste so good. The two engaged into a short discussion of cooking secrets.

"I still don't understand how is it possible to make a pie taste so good; I could summon the best pies in the world! What is so different about yours that makes them so tasty?"

Applejack merely shrugged, but judging by the small smile on her face, she was quite flattered - not because she never knew the pies of Apple family were the best pies ever to exist in the history of everything. No, it was because it was Discord who actually showed appreciation of her family's hard work. It both pleasantly surprised her, and impressed her – the old Discord would never show any sign of appreciation for anything.

"... give me another one." The Spirit demanded nicely. To him, there was no ask. There was demand it nicely or demand it like a boss, but most common of all was just take it. Still, he had no threatening powers right now, so he went with the 'nicer' way.

Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

"Ya ought to pay for one before ya get one, ya know?"

The Spirit sighed. "Unfortunately, it still isn't in my power to create bits out of thin air - apparently it is against the law because it 'puts economy out of balance'." Discord imitated Celestia. Applejack frowned.

"Err, work?"

The Spirit erupted into a laughing it that made Applejack's teeth grit.

"Oh, you're a funny one Applejack, you really are." Discord stuttered out as he finally managed to get some air.

"Well pardon me, but yer no exception to the rule - no bits, no pie. An' if ya even try an' steal one, ya'll get a such kick in yer flank ya'll fly over Equestria, ya got that?"

The Spirit pouted, which on his 'handsome' face looked especially funny. Applejack laughed and suddenly remembered Twilight's eagerness to befriend the Spirit and the look on her face as she excitedly told them about Discord's progress. She instantly felt warmth in her chest, knowing the purple pony would be over thrilled if she knew Applejack hung around with Discord - little did she know the same purple unicorn was peeking at them from behind a house corner, not believing her eyes.

So Applejack decided she might give it a try; her way, of course.

"Say Discord," Applejack continued, "I betcha couldn't make a pie this good without using your fancy magics."

"Oh, please," Discord waved his eagle hand dismissively, "it would be a piece of pie - see what I did there?" He laughed.

"I could easily summon the exact same ingre-"

"Nuh-uh; I said no magics. At all."

Discord finally seem to have understood what she meant by "no magic".

"I would have to bake by hand? Quite an outrageous proposal! I wouldn't even be allowed to supply myself?"

"You'd supply yerself like we all do - buy what ya need."

Discord saw where this was going.

"Still trying to make me work, Applejack? I'm afraid I have better things to 'work' on."

"Just as Ah expected; givin' up as soon as it gets complicated." Appjejack continues, her words making the Spirit slightly upset.

"Your petty taunting attempts will not work."

"Ah'm not attempting anything - I'm challenging ya, Discord." Applejack bluntly said. Discord frowned. The word 'challenge' was a really dangerous and exciting, yet by now really bothersome word. He loved challenges, when he was the one proposing them. Another way around wasn't nearly as fun.

Especially when it involved baking a freakin' pie.

"So what's it gonna be?" Applejack gave him a flashy smile; there was no way in Equestria he was going to refuse.

"Oh for goodness sake - fine, your silly challenge is on." he finally gave in, drawing a satisfied smile from the Earth Pony.

"Excellent. The only thing at stake is our pride an' honor. Be done by the evenin'!"

"This evening?" Discord repeated in disbelief, to which Applejack laughed yet again.

"What did ya expect; an afternoon is enough to supply the Sugar Cube Corner for a day!"

Seeing the Spirit getting more dissatisfied with every second, she added in:

"If ya want, you can have Twi help ya."

Both of them failed to noticed the purple unicorn that excitedly trotted back to her home upon hearing Applejack's words.

"Ha! I need no such thing as help! I'll make that silly pie in the matter of minutes!" with those words the Spirit flew away swiftly. Applejack smirked.

"This oughta be fun. Hope it pays off."

* * *

><p>Once coming before the library, Discord realized just how difficult will this be for him. Powerful, troublesome Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony... baking an apple pie.<p>

He was pretty sure he never missed his powers as much as in that moment. He facepalmed before letting out a resigning sigh and entering the library in a rather unfabulous fashion he usually didn't really prefer - through the door.

"Hiya there, Discord!"

Discord's eyebrows practically left his face when he was greeted with the unusual sight. First of all, it was rare of unicorn to greet him the way she did now. So disgustingly overjoyed, sounding and looking so cute it was suffocating.

Second, she was wearing an apron. An APRON. While he was not familiar with the cooking skills of Twilight, he would bet his tail she pretty much never managed to successfully cook an egg.

It didn't take the Spirit long to connect the dots.

"You heard everything, I suppose." he mumbled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Twilight responded playfully, knowing both what he was talking about and that he knew she knew. If that made any sense.

She is positively excited about this, Discord realized. If he were to tell her right now he didn't want her help it would probably sadden her greatly. It used to be fun, to sadden her, or anypony else. The fact it wasn't as fun anymore only aided his frustration. A groan escaped him as he finally said, annoyed:

"Fine, let's bake the stupid pie already."

Twilight clapped her hooves happily.

* * *

><p>"Now what?"<p>

"Just- press into it! With your hands! Is it really that hard?"

"It is not hard, it is just so... so..."

"What? What is it?"

Quite some time passed in the small kitchen. Luckily for Discord, he didn't have to, as he put it, "humiliate himself by going shopping like a silly pony", since they had enough of ingredients. But surprisingly he had difficulties doing the simplest of tasks and Twilight simply couldn't comprehend why. It took him almost five minutes the open the bag of flour and pour some of it into the bowl. At the moment, he was practically wrestling with the dough for the crust, looking like he was going through great discomfort doing it.

The Spirit gritted his teeth.

"Nothing."

Twilight looked over at him, worried, but decided not to say anything.

"Alright, while you finish that, I'll slice some apples."

Making a pie wasn't difficult, not at all. So why did he have trouble doing every single thing, Twilight wondered as she watched the Spirit who was pressing the dough like it hurt him every time he did so.

After Discord FINALLY managed to do it right ,the crust was soon done, and apples prepared - with the addition of various ingredients such as butter, sugar and beaten eggs, topped with cinnamon, the pie was ready to bake. It took them a fine one hour before they could put the poor pie into the oven, after which Spirit literally laid on the floor and breathed with relief.

"What is with you?" Twilight frowned. "You act like you just ran a mare-a-thon, or something."

Discord didn't reply. By now, Twilight was irritated by his behavior.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense."

"What non- wow!" Discord felt the unpleasant tug on his tail as Twilight's magic lifted him up to hang upside down before her. He dangled a bit comically as Twilight started to speak, by now angry.

"What is going on Discord? You're totally out of place! Since when does the "almighty" Spirit of Chaos have trouble making a pie! A PIE!" she repeated, visibly upset with his strange behaviour. She let the Spirit fall on the floor. Much to her surprise, instead of a witty reply or an arrogant remark of what she had done, he got up and proceeded to lazily wipe the dust out of his fur. Obviously, avoiding to answer.

"Well?"

Oh would you just let it go? was what he wanted to say.

"You can be so annoying sometimes, Twilight Sparkle." he finally answered.

"Well you can be so weird sometimes! I don't know what to make of your behavior!" she threw her hooves in the air to express her confusion.

"My behavior is my business only."

"Not if you're obviously not feeling well about something."

Feeling. He knew the word "feeling" didn't always have to represent one's emotional state, but he hated the word nevertheless. It was so cheesy, so overly honest and way too intrusive.

"I don't see how my 'not feeling well' has anything to do with you."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't let anypony, especially a good friend of mine, suffer."

It took Twilight a few second to realize she probably said something he considered weird; at least if it was to judge by the Spirit's face expression. Looking as surprised as when he first saw her in apron, only a bit more shocked, Discord blinked a few times. Twilight wondered what was going through his head, but he decided to remain silent. Just as she was about to speak, probably again asking what is the matter, an unpleasant smell spread through the kitchen.

"The PIE!" The two shrieked as if their lives were on the line, then opened the oven so forcefully they almost broke it.

Inside, a half black, crispy remains of once probably edible pie waited for them.

Discord let out a groan, and threw himself on the floor. Twilight just sighed.

Then she turned around to face the Spirit, and tried giving him a smile, which, while it didn't seem to repair his mood, has gotten him curious; probably because she didn't have anything to smile about.

"Again?" the single words left her mouth, hope audible in her sweet voice. It took Discord a second to think the suggestion through.

"Again."

* * *

><p>About eight burnt, over baked, under baked, too sweet, too salty, prank-containing, cinnamon challenge-y or accidentally destroyed pies, Discord and Twilight put the supposedly good pie on the kitchen table, both of them wearing a slightly tired, but extremely satisfied smile on their faces; they have spent the whole afternoon trying to get the pie done right, which with their unbelievably low level of cooking skill wasn't even that bad of a timing. Through pranks and conversation, they have spent quite an enjoyable day, talking about the random things such as Ponyville citizens, the pretty much nonexistent strategy of Chess Mess, even books, and once Spike came home and yelled at them for messing up the kitchen, about his crush on Rarity.<p>

Immediately, Twilight called Spike to test their new pie, even though he wasn't too fond of desserts that didn't contain gems. Tension was in the air as Spike tasted a slice, chewing slowly. Then he blinked in surprise.

"Wow you two. I didn't knew you can cook so well. Remind me why am I the one making meals every day?" he said teasingly. Discord seemed semi satisfied with an answer, while Twilight totally unexpectedly flushed.

"Oh, it took us forever, but thanks, I suppose. Pieson was really hard to make."

"Pieson?" Spike covered his mouth trying not to laugh, but Twilight giggled.

"After a third one failed, we started naming them. It was quite fun."

"Sure, whatever." Spike still laughed at the quite unusual and silly way of fun the two had.

"Well, let us not waste our time here!" Discord suddenly added, grabbing Twilight like a doll with his lion arm as she levitated the pie, "I have a point to prove." with a click of fingers transported both of them to the Sweet Apple Acres, which caught Twilight by surprise.

"I thought you couldn't transport that far."

The suspicious silence was all she got as a reply for a few seconds.

"Lucky day, I suppose." the Spirit replied, not being quite convincing. Twilight decided she'd think it over later, as they both searched around - it didn't take them long to notice a certain orange pony with a bucket of apples among the trees.

"Hey, Applejack!" Twilight called for her - as the Earth Pony turned around, a pretty delighted smile decorated her face.

"Well, what do we have here." she said in amusement as she approached them, looking at the pie Twilight was offering her.

"He's called Pieson! Treat him gently!" Discord said jokingly as Applejack took a slice. She gave him a funny look for his statement, but didn't question it. Then she slowly ate the slice.

"Well spank my flank and call me Suzie, ya did it." Applejack said in disbelief. While Twilight wondered what in the Equestria did Applejack just say, Discord let out a victorious 'ha!'.

"Like I said - easy as pie."

Twilight decided not to mention just how many times did they make it over and over again. But Applejack seemed to have been smart enough to know they worked hard without them telling her anything.

"Congratulations Discord. Ya passed."

"Of course I- wait, passed?" The Spirit asked in confusion, floating next to Twilight, who had an equally confused expression on her face.

"Ya were willing to work hard after all, weren't ya?" Applejack asked. Discord frowned upon realization.

"You..."

"Ah wanted to see if ya really can work hard if ya want to, an' apparently ya can. Now I can feel the same appreciation for you because of yer work, just like ya felt when ya tasted mah pies."

Twilight suddenly let out a wise "oooh" as if she just realized something, and smiled. Discord, on the other hand, didn't look pleased at all. These ponies really like to play games with him. It was so mischievous of them.

"Well, thanks for th' pie! Granny Smith will be pleased! I'd ask ya to cook us something again, but I reckon Twilight wouldn' like to have her kitchen burn down!" she laughed, her teasing making Twilight smile a bit shyly. Discord was still slightly upset.

"G'night y'all!" Applejack finally greeted them before entering her house, feeling like today was quite a success for all of them.

* * *

><p>Once Discord and Twilight transported back into the library, they both felt just how worn out they were. But for some reason, neither of them felt like sleeping. They ended up on the top balcony of the library, using the telescope and looking at the stars, discussing Applejack's successful plan. Both of them got comfy on the balcony floor, and once Discord summoned some oddly colored tea, which had such a unique taste Twilight swore she never tried it before, the evening was pretty much perfect for relaxation.<p>

"She really got you this time though, you have to admit."

"Hmpf. That farmer pony just earned herself a week worth of some of my best schemes." Discord evilly replied, a devilish smile on his face.

"Just don't be too cruel." Twilight warned.

"Oh, so I can be cruel, only not too cruel, hm?" he continued to tease.

"That was totally not what I meant!" Twilight laughed, but with some concern in her voice.

"Don't worry dear; I'll have Applejack on her wits ends without causing too much of a trouble."

I guess that sounds somewhat acceptable, Twilight thought as she took some more tea. She hoped Applejack wouldn't regret she challenged the Spirit.

"Are you still not going to tell me what got into you this afternoon?" Twilight tried once again. As she expected a frown formed on his face, followed by a groan:

"Ugh, this again? If you'll continue to pester me like that, I might as well go to sleep." she noticed he was about to stand up, and quickly grasped his shoulder to stop him.

"Oh, don't go! I'm sorry, if it really bothers you that much, I won't ask anymore." as she retraced her hoof, she didn't notice how surprised Discord was by her gesture.

"How about this Twilight Sparkle - I'll answer your question if you answer mine."

"Oh." Twilight blinked, wondering just what was it that made the Spirit curious. "Well, sure I suppose. As long as it is not too private." she joked. Discord eyed her carefully.

"Do you really think of me as a friend?" His voice was so full of suspicion and disbelief, Twilight noticed, and couldn't understand why. After all, he used to mock them all for being so friends-driven, mock their loyalty and kindness to each other, the way they treated each other with respect. So why the sudden surprise?

"Yes, I do." Twilight replied as serious as she could, trying not to let a slightly happy smile to crawl onto her face; she was afraid he wouldn't find her serious then. Still, a small smile finally broke out.

"I don't really understand why were you even questioning that. I mean..." she fell silent for a second.

"I've been thinking of you as a friend for some time already, even though you don't think the same."

Discord opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself in the last second by loudly slapping his mouth. Twilight looked at him funny for a moment, only to realize it was pointless to question his actions.

"So, um..." she slowly started, "...mind telling me what happened with you today?"

The draconequues seemed to ponder over his answer for a bit.

"It is just so...weird, doing all of these things..."

Twilight wait patiently for him to continue, as he as seemingly confused by his own behaviour.

"How do I explain this." he suddenly flew up and put his hands slightly up – in one of them he summoned a by now a mascot of his powers, glass of chocolate milk.

"You see? That was quite easy, wasn't it. On the other hand..." with a few soft popping sounds, ingredients appeared before Twilight on the balcony floor – milk, cocoa beans, sugar...

"...look at all of this!" he gestured towards the summoned goods.

"I think this is the first time ever I've actually summoned cocoa beans! I never needed them. I always have everything prepared. I've never in my life even touched half prepared food." He admitted, sounding once again confused. It was weird seeing him like this, explaining himself, his behavior. A brief thought of her research quickly passed through unicorn's mind.

Twilight slowly started to realized what the Spirit was talking about – not just the fact he wasn't used to working for what he wanted; during the afternoon, he didn't complain once, it was definitely not the matter of laziness or unwillingness. It was the fact he once had everything literally a click of fingers away. He used to summon pie rains. Now, he had to work the whole afternoon for a pie that didn't even get tossed into somepony's face.

He needed to get used to being normal.

"I see what you're trying to say. Getting used to changes isn't easy, but I guess that's what friends are for... the same ones I thought were crazy ponies when I first came here." Twilight chuckled, remembered when she first came to Ponyville, totally unused to all the friendly attention she's been given. It was awkward, annoying and bothersome to no end.

She wanted to give a slap to her past self, now that she thought about it.

"But thanks to them, my life is so much... not just better, but... richer, more fulfilled than before. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to something, but once you do, you can see what are the beauties of doing so."

Discord dispersed the food and returned next to her on the comfortable floor. Twilight could tell he was slightly confused about himself. His next words though...

"You're a good friend, Twilight Sparkle."

It took Twilight every single atom of strength she possessed not to throw herself around the Spirit's neck and cry from happiness. She decided to distract herself with probably the oldest prank in the history of world.

"Hey, what's that?" she pointed to his beard. As he looked down, she playfully and softly brought her hoof up, hitting him in the nose. Judging by the priceless look on his face, he didn't expect to fall for such an old trick, but then again, neither did she.

"I can't believe you fell for that!" she expressed, laughing. That good old, mischevious smirk appeared on Discord's face.

"Did you know I am still capable of casting a spell that makes a pony extremely ticklish?"

"Yeah, what abo- no. No. NO. NOAAAH, STOOOP, HAHAHAHAHHAHA!"


	9. Honesty in a Glass of Punch

Sleeping and waking up at random time, as well as in random places sometimes, became a regularity for Twilight Sparkle. Catching up with her studies wasn't that hard for the smartest student of Celestia, but she barely had anytime to just sit and clear her head - be it having a game night with Spike, whom with she suddenly started to spend a lot more time playing instead of studying, hanging out with her friends, whom she didn't see as much as before or, of course, trying to entertain and teach the hyper and often bored Spirit of Ponyville ways. It was hard to balance so much fun with all the studying she had to do.

So she was quite happy once she caught up with all of her studies and found some free time to go to Pinkie Pie's party - she had already missed out twice thanks to her filled schedule, but nothing was going to stop her from having a wild party in the Sugar Cube Corner today!

"Is that a party invitation?"

Well, almost nothing.

Twilight bit her lip. No matter how hard she wanted to bring the always party-hardy ready Spirit to hang out with her friends, she had a bad feeling it wouldn't go well. Now that she thought about it though, it was weird Pinkie Pie didn't specifically invited them both. Perhaps she had the letters ready weeks in advance?

"Um, yeah~ Pinkie Pie has invited me and Spike to-"

"Who else but Pinkie Pie, my dear!" her distinct accent on the word 'me and Spike' didn't stop Spirit from performing a joyous loop in the air.

"Oooh, I can't wait to see her, I have the most wicked party prank prepared!"

"Eh-he-he... yeah..."

"I_ am_ invited, right?"

Twilight finally looked at Spirit's red, mismatched and way too expectant eyes for her to refuse. Besides, they were officially friends now. Perhaps he'll know he has to behave... a bit, at least.

"Well, naturally! Where I go, you go! If you wish, that is." she gave a slightly embarrassed grin.

"Brilliant!"

A short silence fell between them; Discord lying on the window sill and sunbathing, while Twilight was looking through her closet, looking for a cool accessory or a cute dress she might wear - she hadn't dressed up since forever - when Discord suddenly asked:

"What do ponies do on parties?"

Twilight looked over at the Spirit, who seemed slightly lost in thoughts.

"You haven't been on a party for quite long, have you?"

"Well, technically, never." Discord admitted.

"Sure, I would prepare parties of a more chaotic nature, but those were mostly big parties for the whole cities - and usually I was the only one enjoying them." he snickered a bit evilly.

Twilight couldn't decide between a frown and a smile.

"A party of one? That isn't a party then." she retorted.

"It is not my fault nopony enjoyed." Discord pouted. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"What you thought of as a party, other ponies saw as a threat, you know."

"But they were so much fun! I mean come on, wasn't my last party brilliant? You were there, after all." he teased, making the unicorn frown.

"I don't know just how is turning houses upside down fun."

"Mostly because it is unseen sight, don't you think?" Discord asked. Twilight thought his answer through.

"Hmm, while I believe I do get your point, you being the Spirit of Chaos and everything, you weren't the one living in those homes, so you can probably never understand how scary can that be."

"Scary? It was_ scary_?"

"Sure was!" Twilight looked at the surprised Spirit again.

"Just imagine something you really love and cherish being altered in such a way, you deem it as corrupted. You consider it ruined, it just becomes... frightening."

Twilight turned to her closet, pulling out that yellow dress Rarity had made for her quite some time ago while Discord was thinking in silence. Not much he could have said, Twilight thought. She was right, after all.

"Such a boring dress." she jerked when she noticed the Spirit peeking over her shoulder.

"It is not boring! It's simple and practical! I like it just the way it is."

"Suit yourself, dear." he gave her a mocking chuckle as he eyed the dress as he tried to fly downstairs. He payed for his insolence by bumping an invisible wall Twilight had conjured.

"_Watch where you're going_~" she warned with a sing-along voice.

* * *

><p>"Hello Twilight! Oh, gosh, oh gosh, Dissy you're here too, I'm soooo glad to see you both here! Oh and Twilight, your dress is so awesome! I didn't know there was the kind of fabric that has pictures moving on it!"<p>

"I call it '_discotton_'." Discord mischievously snickered; moments after they knocked, as a sign of revenge for that invisible wall, he turned Twilight's yellow dress into a colorful mess with animated prints of balloons, cupcakes and presents. The colors were eye stabbing. Spike was laughing the whole time.

"Thank you so much, Discord." Twilight deadpanned. Pinkie just laughed.

"Come in, come in, everypony is here already!"

The party was already in full swing; Applejack and Rainbow Dash were having a one-on-one dancing contest, while Rarity and Fluttershy lingered near the punch bowl, slowly sipping and talking about '_Fluttershy's gorgeous mane_'.

"You really ought to do something with so much of that beautiful hair, and such soft natural color!"

"Um, I think I like it the way it is... sorry..." the Pegasus apologized for no reason.

"Guys, guys! Look who is here!"

Rarity and Fluttershy both looked at Twilight and Spike with welcoming smiles (Spike immediately got closer to the fashionista), but their smiles soon turned into expressions of surprise when they noticed Discord by their side. Rarity was even more surprised once she realized what Twilight was wearing.

"Just where in the world did you get that fabulous fabric?" she asked, staring at the weird dress in awe.

"Don't tell me you like it? Discord played a little joke on me." Twilight explained; Discord bowed as he was mentioned.

"Oh, the dress is no good, but the fabric with movable print? It is simply fantastic!"

"I'm glad at least somepony appreciates my fashion creation." the Spirit laughed. Once Twilight looked at him to answer him, she noticed something.

"Have you gotten shorter?"

"I was a bit too tall for the house, so yes."

"I didn't know your magic could do that."

"I never used it in front of you, is all."

It was the second time in two days he used magic on level she didn't know he was capable of, the first time being when he transported them both all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. Her growing suspicion was interrupted though, once Rarity spoke again to Discord, like he was an old acquaintance.

"Oh, you have got to teach me that spell!"

"I doubt I can do that, generous Rarity. Your magical abilities hardly match your beauty." Rarity ignored the remark on her lack of powers, because she pretty much expected it; his unexpected compliment was what made her smile in appreciation though. Spike was positively fuming.

"Khm, khm!" he coughed loudly as he got in between them.

"Rarity, are you for a dance? Please?" Spike added the pleading word before Rarity could say she was busy talking. Rarity was too much of a nice lady to refuse such a nice plead.

"Excuse me." she smiled meekly before following Spike to join Rainbow and Applejack, who were still oblivious of the chaotic visitor.

"Looks like not everyone is ignorant of dangers my charm possesses." Discord joked as he watched Spike, the little dragon's face still red. Twilight and Pinkie Pie laughed, while Fluttershy gave but a small shy smile. Her eyes were constantly trying to avoid him, yet her curiosity of the Spirit and eagerness to meet him better constantly forced her to glance at him again and again.

Twilight decided they she should try and leave them alone to give Fluttershy a chance to talk to him. Though she had no idea what the timid Pegasus could discuss with likes of him.

"Hey Pinkie, wanna dance?"

"What kind of question is that?" Pinkie asked in response laughing, and dragged Twilight away to join the dancing crowd. While she was dancing she would occasionally glance at the two. She was glad to notice they were actually talking and Fluttershy didn't seem upset. Wow, did she just smile? Did he just laugh? Watching them was awkward - she almost dozed of staring at them before remembering she promised Pinkie a dance.

After two songs, record player stopped and they all returned to the snack table while Pinkie was looking for another record - it was only then that Rainbow Dash noticed the Spirit; him and Fluttershy enjoying the punch, chips and seemingly their conversation. Twilight already saw Rainbow opening her mouth, probably to loudly protest against Discord being at their party, so she swiftly grabbed her from behind and put a hoof in her mouth to stop her from talking, then dragged her to the side.

"If you say anything negative, I swear Rainbow Dash-"

"What the hay is he doing here?" Rainbow hissed silently, dangerously eyeing Discord as he showed Fluttershy an amusing spell - taking four chips together, he created a flying butterfly. Then, much to Fluttershy's sadness, Pinkie jumped up and ate it in the mid air.

"Relax Rainbow, he is not bothering anypony! Look, even Applejack is OK with seeing him here!" she gestured toward the orange pony who greeted Discord with a smile.

"Yes, he is! He is bothering me greatly!"

"He didn't even do anything! Would you just knock it off? What is it with you?"

"Ugh! I just can't Twilight! Just seeing his stupid face here make me wanna-! Ugh!"

"You should really give him a chance you know. Him and I have become good friends, and-"

"Friends? With him? As if! It is impossible to befriend someone like him. You two are as much of friends as Spike and Opal are!"

"That is not true." Twilight replied, slightly hurt by her words, but deciding it was Rainbow's hot head spewing nonsense. Rainbow was a second away from continuing her furious bashing of the draconequues, when Fluttershy suddenly joined Twilight by her side.

"Wow, Twilight, I, I never even dreamed that Discord could be such a pleasant company."

Both Twilight and Rainbow stared at her is disbelief - despite seeing them getting along, Twilight didn't expect to hear that big of a compliment from Fluttershy. Rainbow didn't expect any progress at all.

"Really?" Twilight asked, still totally baffled. Fluttershy nodded eagerly.

"Yes, he really seemed... well, I wouldn't like to get ahead of myself, but..." she glanced at Discord, who was whispering something to Pinkie - probably about that prank he was planning to show her, then she turned to Rainbow and Twilight with a shy but eager smile on her face, "I think he actually enjoyed talking to me." a shade of red covered her cheeks; it was obvious that meant a lot to her, especially since she was usually so shy and quiet.

Twilight proudly patted her on the shoulder, but Rainbow let out a frustrated "oh come ON!" before marching over to the snack table, grabbing and furiously chewing on a hoof-full of chips. Fluttershy arched an eyebrow.

"Is Rainbow Dash alright?"

"She is just being a regular stubborn mule, is all." Twilight sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, that is too bad... I think the two of them would get along nicely."

"Really? How come?"

"Well, Discord seems to love flying just as much as she does, by what he says - ever since his powers were taken away, he's been flying much more than usual, especially during the night." Fluttershy explained.

"Really? I guess I never noticed." Twilight wondered. Their conversation was interrupted by Applejack's desperate scream - for a moment Twilight panicked, asking herself what had Spirit done now - but it turned out she was the victim of prank.

"Who would have known even Applejack would get scared by a rubber centipede!"

"Well, when ya find one swimming in yer drink, ya get a slightly bigger scare, ya know." Applejack chuckled, taking the rubber centipede out of her glass. Rainbow Dash was not amused as she slowly sipped on her punch.

"Come on, let's just have fun. I'm sure Rainbow will relax soon." Twilight told Fluttershy as the two joined their friends.

* * *

><p>The party was one of Pinkie Pie's bigger successes. In fact, it got so loud and fun, at least a dozen ponies crashed it, which Pinkie didn't seem to mind in the slightest.<p>

The weirdest thing of all was that they didn't mind the Spirit of Chaos being in the same room with them. Surely, most of them avoided the trouble bringing Spirit, or simply pretended he wasn't there, but some, like Lyra and Bon Bon seemed to enjoy his pranks and antics, even though they haven't spoken much to him.

The best thing of all, Twilight noticed, is that they weren't afraid of him anymore.

But it bothered Twilight greatly that even ponies who that evning met Discord face to face for the first time, seemed to have accepted him faster and easier than Rainbow Dash; she completely ignored him. Whenever he got into the center of attention - which was, as expected, pretty often, especially when he started teaching ponies the Shuffle - she would stand aside by herself, drink some punch or munch on some snacks.

"If you continue like this, you'll eat all the snacks for tonight." Twilight teased her when she bit into the third pop tart in the last two minutes.

Rainbow glanced at her shortly, then at the poptart. The next moment, she angrily threw the poptart back on the plate, and sternly said:

"I'm going home."

"Oh come on, Rainbow, why are you being like this!"

"Because I can!" The Pegasus stubbornly answered before finally leaving the party through a nearby window, nopony even noticing her departure.

Knowing there was nothing she could do, Twilight got back to having a good time, though the rainbow colored mare wouldn't leave her mind no matter what she did.

Around midnight, the ponies finally scattered home. Spike was long asleep due to too much of strong punch and Pinkie Pie offered to let him sleep over since he seemed to enjoy sleeping in the pile of flour bags so much. Once Twilight promised she would get him in the morning and thanked her for the party, her and slightly disoriented Discord finally started going home.

Twilight had to suppress her laughter more than once because of the Spirit's state - much like Spike, he drank a lot of sweet punch, but one that was more intended for, err... grown ups - it was the best one Berry Punch had and brought over; the level of fun grew instantly when the ponies tastes punch spiced with strong wine.

Discord actually sang as they finally entered the library; she recognized that song slightly, but could recall where she heard it first.

_"Disco-hic!-oord, I'mma howlin' at th' Moon~ an' sleepin' in th' middle of th' summre aftrenoon..._" the Spirit 'sang' as he finally laid down on the couch, looking at the ceiling, letting out a grateful groan as he finally allowed his legs to rest. As she got out of her colorful, still animated dress, Twilight could hear him laughing. She did her best not to join him, because she had a feeling she would never stop if she did.

"Discord, you seem like you had fun tonight." she leaned over the couch to look at him. The Spirit looked at her still chuckling. Twilight never thought she would see the Spirit being this tipsy; she had to admit, it was quite fun to watch.

"Twilight Sprrrarrkle, my **dearest** -hic!- pony lady-" he paused to hiccup a few more times, then continued, "tonight was a ff-.._.fffulll_... I forget what I was gonna say..." his forgetfulness caused another wave of hysteric laughter. Twilight was glad she let Spike sleep over - Discord would have waken him up by now.

"You should get some sleep." Twilight reasonably said - she didn't expect her words to cause a reaction; Discord instantly sat up, looking at her half confused and half disappointed.

"_Sleep_?" he leaned slightly closer to her, not realizing he was getting into her face - Twilight could feel the scent of sweet grapes from the wine and alcohol in his breath.

"Night is still young, Twilight Sparkle." He spoke, now a bit more sober. "Neither you nor I are ready for sleep yet."

"Oh." Twilight realized he was, as he'd put it if he weren't tipsy, bored. Well sure, why not. She could be up for another half on hour or so. The Spirit will probably be asleep by then.

"What do you want to do?"

The Spirit pondered or a few moments. The he suddenly grabbed her.

"Let's turn on some..." he hiccuped, "some music."

"What? Now you feel like dancing? Again?"

"I gotta teach you th'- th' shuffle!" It was obvious he wasn't much for dancing once he accidentally tipped over the couch and fell face first on the floor.

"Yeah, as if; you can barely stand!" Twilight managed through the laughter. The Spirit joined in the laugh, the suddenly tensed up, falling silent.

"**Shh**! Listen. Can you hear that?" as he threw one of his arms around her shoulders in a friendly way, his other eagle hand placed next to his ear, as he was trying to hear whatever he thought he was hearing.

Nevertheless, Twilight fell silent; she held her ears straight up, trying to catch any sign of any unusual noise. Aside from a few crickets and occasional howl of Owloysius somewhere in the night air, nothing else was heard.

"Discord, I can't-" He interrupted her silently, putting a talon over her lips.

"The sound... of _magic_!" The Spirit smiled knowingly, staring at her with wide, almost sparkly eyes.

Twilight was by now sure he was pulling her leg.

"Discord, what in the world are... you..." she observed as the Spirit let go and sat next to her, extending his arms before himself; he looked like he was in state of complete tranquility as he closed his eyes. For the next few moments, they were both silent and still.

In the very next moment, a small pool of some liquid formed in his palms and from in between his fingers oozed what looked like it was the light itself - it was bright, emitting pure white light and of purest white color Twilight has ever seen. It soundlessly dripped to the floor, but Twilight didn't care. Right now she was in absolute awe of the Spirit, both frightened and astonished by his capabilities once she realized what the liquid was.

The pure, white, shining liquid was the essence of Magic.

How was he doing it, she had no idea. This kind of magic extracting power was noted down in her history books perhaps dozen of times altogether, but it was never mentioned somepony did it on themselves. She wasn't entirely sure even Celestia could do it, though Twilight believed she probably could... but with greater effort.

And yet, here he was, with but a fraction of his power bestowed upon him, half drunk and displaying one of the most powerful acts of magic and body in the history of Equestria.

Finally realizing this was something worth writing down, Twilight instantly summoned the quill and the parchment, writing and sketching furiously, but her eyes never leaving the Spirit.

Then, with a swift movement of his arms, Discord threw spread his arms, one of them releasing the Magic into the air, and the other pouring it over the floor. Then, he snapped his fingers.

The drops of Magic that were spread through the air and around them disappeared. Discord's eyes popped open, shining almost eerily with the white light.

Twilight yelped when the floor beneath her moved. The windows closed and became one with the wall, and the ceiling rose and rose upwards until it was no longer visible. The no longer visible ceiling became covered with newly formed sky and star constellations that Twilight didn't recognize. Some stars were as huge as the Sun and the crescent Moon was bigger of them all, spreading though bigger part of the night sky.

The walls, much like the ceiling, disappeared in the distance, the space they created being replaced with weird, twisted and nature defying trees, buildings that were architecturally impossible to build and crossbred or never before seen animals. The floor became a colorful grass of purple and blue color shades and colorless flowers popped around her. Butterflies as big as herself flew through the air, their wings leaving a foggy, cyan trace behind.

Taking in everything that happened, Twilight noticed Discord had left only one thing untouched - her library door. One of the weird houses had exactly the same front door her library had. It was safe to conclude everything he just did was inside of her home only, and that nopony from outside could probably see what was going on.

He is creating a small universe in a confined space... that defies every single rule of logic! And where did he acquire such power? When did he acquire it? He couldn't have possibly gained his powers back, Celestia is keeping them under a lock!

All those questions would have to wait, Twilight finally concluded, as she watched final touch of magic taking place; green-lit bugs flew through the air, reminding her of fireflies.

Then, everything calmed down, and Discord closed his once magic engulfed eyes. When he slowly opened them again, Twilight thankfully noticed they were back to their golden-scarlet state.

"Discord?" she asked quietly. The Spirit looked around, got up and triumphantly laughed. The wobble in his legs informed her he was still quite tipsy.

"My home!_ My Chaos_!" he span around, looking almost innocent as he 'danced' in the midst of the newly created chaotic world.

Twilight followed him slowly, swallowing - she only now felt how dry her throat got.

"Discord... what have you... I mean..." she was too confused to ask, but Spirit seemed more than eager to explain.

"I missed my Chaos, Twilight, dear, I-I just had to do somethin' about it!" Discord said, still tipsy.

"Do not fret, your boooring old home will be back by th' sunrise!"

"Oh... alright." Twilight replied, figuring she might ask him about his powers in the morning and let him enjoy for now. He really seemed happy and it drew a smile on her face.

Now that she looked around, the world Discord created wasn't half bad. Sure some of the animals were a bit creepy, but the dark grass, the eerie green light from those fireflies, the cyan foggy air and gorgeous, unusual night sky were quite a nice sight. It fact, it pretty much resembled something she would create if she were to able to conjure her own world.

"You're quite an artist." she noticed.

"O-of course mah dear; naturally I went with somethin'- somethin' that_ you_ could enjoy 'swell!"

"Oh... thanks."

"Don' mention it!" The Spirit collapsed into grass, and Twilight trotted over to him to check on him - he looked so peaceful. She never saw him like that before.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked softly.

The Spirit smiled the most sincere smile she ever saw.

"You have no idea." the beloved surrounding seemed to have put him out of his drunken stupor a little bit.

Twilight laid down next to him. Who knows how he felt all this time, with no chaos whatsoever; and he obviously couldn't help himself but loving the Chaos more than anything.

Twilight tried to imagine it. She remembered what they all thought once they encountered chaotic world. They didn't like it much, and could only live in it if they were to try their hardest to adapt. But they probably couldn't love it.

Was that how Discord felt in their organized world?

"Discord?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of our world? I mean-" she realized he might not understand the question, "What do you think of living normally... living like us?"

The Spirit laughed.

"Oh it is fine dear. But at least every once in a while, if I can't have it all the time, someone like me needs something like this."

"Someone like you?"

"An outsider, I guess. You might as well call me an abomination."

"Discord, you're not-"

"Oh but I am, my dear. Do not be afraid to admit it, I came to terms with that long ago. It is simply who I am, I was never ashamed of it."

Silence.

"Weren't you lonely?"

Discord looked up at the sky.

"I had my powers. With great power comes a lot of possibilities and you end up not even thinking about that most of the time. Then I lost my powers. It wasn't... nice." he glanced at her.

"But I have gotten you and some new friends in return, didn't I?"

Twilight was at loss for words. To think he came to appreciate them that much... her eyes unwillingly started to get wet; he didn't miss the fact she turned her head away.

"Now, now, what did I say? I want no tears in my dreams, or in my own worlds." he teased as he gently pulled on her mane, making her face him.

"But I'm crying because I'm-I'm ha-happy." she stuttered a bit, as a silly smile came onto her face.

"I can see that." he noticed as he laughed. She felt his claw patting her on the head, and it made her laugh.

"Too bad you'll be denying all of this in the morning." Twilight brought up what has been bothering her for some time already.

"I most likely won't even remember it. I haven't drank in quite a while." the Spirit laughed.

"But you don't have to be sad. It is not like you'll forget what I said."

"_Never_." Twilight confirmed. They both spent the rest of the evening watching the sky until they both drifted off to sleep.

Twilight's parchment and quill, having written a half finished research, laid forgotten somewhere in the grass.

* * *

><p><em>Things bet a bit more sentimental. ( do NOT understand that as couple-ish or romantic, haha xD )<em>

I'd like to think this is my best chapter so far. It certainly is my favorite.

The compositon "arrow of light" (OST) greatly inspired the last scene. It really shows, actually.


	10. Acceptance

**A short chapter of what happened after a strange night of big revelations. I could have made this into a big chapter, but I think it's charm is in its shortness, if that makes any sense.**

* * *

><p>A faint noise of flapping wings and a silent 'who' woke Twilight up. Feeling warm and lying on something soft, Twilight felt like opening her eyes was the must difficult task she was given – but, morning was here, if it were to judge by the noises Owloysius made as he came back to the library.<p>

Reluctantly, Twilight opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed, and that made her sigh contently, was that her old library was back; for a moment she thought there was some movement in the windows and walls. Whether she woke up just at the moment to see Discord's world ending or was she simply still half asleep, she didn't know. Owloysius had indeed just returned from his night hunt and was already peacefully sleeping.

Next, she noticed her soft warm pillow was in fact the Spirit's body and her warm blanket his fuzzy lion arm. She snickered, wondering how would Discord justify the fact he cuddled her while he was asleep. As she slowly got up, she had to do her hardest not to laugh out loud – his mouth were open, his snake tongue hanging out silly and he was snoring, quietly enough for it to be acceptable, but loudly enough for her to find it funny. If it weren't for those sounds one might as well have thought he was knocked out.

Standing on her legs, Twilight stretched – sleeping like this wasn't something her body was used to, so it produced a series of cracks. It immediately refreshed her.

After refreshing herself some more in the bathroom, she started to open the windows; she was extremely surprised that it was still early, as Sun had only begun to rise far away on the horizon and a star or two were even still visible. It was relatively dark outside, and the citizens of Ponyville were probably mostly still sleeping. Once the Sun comes up, she would go and pick up Spike.

After fixing herself a sandwich, which took more time than she expected, she finally recalled her research papers. Hoping they haven't disappeared together with the world Discord conjured, she snooped around the library. She was about to give up looking for it, when she noticed a slip of paper under one of the book shelves. Excited, she pulled her research out, and took a look.

A quick sketch of the draconequues' palms holding the Magic essence was present, as well an unfinished sketch of the conjuring world. At least two dozens of notes were written down, all in two or three words. Together with what she saw with her own two eyes, Twilight had more than enough material for a research, but it opened a lot of questions.

She spent the whole early morning writing down her observations, setting up theories, writing down question that were bothering her and trying to answer them, mostly with more theories. While she didn't come up with any concrete answers, her research got a few pages longer, she noticed satisfyingly.

Once she finally looked through the window, she noticed the Sun was already out in its full glory and ponies were already on the streets. Just about then, Discord started mumbling something as he slowly started to wake up.

"...green isn't your color, dear..."

Twilight went to the kitchen – she realized Discord will probably be very thirsty because of all the alcohol in punch he drank last night. Thinking he might be having a headache as well, she took an aspirin before returning to him with a big glass of water, just as the Spirit opened his eyes and carefully sat up.

"_Agh_!" the Spirit winced and trembled when strong pounding occurred in between his temples, grabbing his head, desperately trying to make the unfamiliar, obviously rarely occurring pain go away. Twilight panicked slightly before quickly offering him the glass and the aspirin.

"Drink this; the pain should go away soon." she instructed. Without a question, he grabbed the aspirin and swallowed it, it being immediately followed be the refreshing water. After finishing the glass he gratefully smacked his lips.

"Much better." he mumbled in a deep, weirdly toned voice. Twilight figured it was because of the punch and weariness he probably still felt.

"But my head is pounding..." he winced again when he once again felt the pain he wasn't used to.

"Don't worry, in about fifteen minutes it'll go away. Just lay down and relax, OK?"

Spirit obediently lay down. For a moment, Twilight thought it was very amusing to take care of him like this. It almost felt... well, she was slightly embarrassed to admit it to herself, but it felt like she was taking care of a family member.

"Want some more water?"

"You're reading my mind."

Two more times she went to the kitchen to bring the Spirit a refreshing drink, after which he simply lay there, bathing in the morning Sun that reached through the window. For a couple of long moments Twilight was watching him, so many question going through her mind...

"I'm going to pick up Spike. You'll be here when I get back, I hope?"

"Unless something interesting happens... probably." the Spirit smiled teasingly. Twilight shook her head, but returned the smile before going out.

* * *

><p>"Spike? He's still asleep, Twilight! He must've had a blast last night!" Pinkie Pie was in top shape, Twilight notice with surprise. She could hardly even imagine the hyper pony sleeping.<p>

"What? Oh, Spike..." Twilight sheepishly smiled when she saw the little dragon on the same place like the last night, only in slightly different position. His claws seemed to have teared one of the flour bags a bit, spilling some flour over the floor.

"Sorry about that, Pinkie."

"Oh, no problem, it is just a little flour."

"Ah, anyway, I'm going to take him home; I don't like leaving Discord alone for too long. If he gets bored he might try something I don't approve of." Twilight said as she used her magic to gently put Spike on her back, then sweeping the flour into the trash bin. Pinkie produced a small blanket, seemingly out of nowhere, and put it over his small body.

"Haha, okie-dokie-lokie then! Say 'hi' to Dissy for me and tell him my shuffling is better than ever!"

"Sure, Pinkie Pie." Twilight laughed at the silly nickname Discord got and left Sugar Cube Corner to their brownie baking business. She wondered if Pinkie Pie already perfected her shuffle so soon.

Spike must've been awfully tired because even the growing noise of Ponyville didn't wake him up as Twilight carried him to the library, where she found the Spirit in the same position as before. After placing Spike in his basket, she took a better look of Discord. He didn't seem to be sleeping again, more like resting.

"Pinkie says 'hi' and thank you for the shuffle lesson."

The Spirit let out an acknowledging sound.

"You're acting like you had a difficult night." she teased. A barely audible chuckle was heard in response.

"I hope I haven't done anything indecent yesterday, because I have to admit, I started to forget things about the time we headed home." he mumbled.

Twilight swallowed, feeling a certain spot in her chest tightening a bit; she was quite sad he couldn't recall the greatest moment of honesty he shared with her.

Then she wondered if she should ask him about his powers and how they seemed to be growing for whatever reason - but she realized she couldn't. What if the Spirit realized he was capable of greater thing than even he knew, and... and started causing chaos again? He would without a doubt take the opportunity... probably.

Twilight realized she was all by herself on this one. Telling Celestia was risking him being imprisoned again. Telling her friends meant the work on their relationship with the Spirit might go to waste. Telling Spike would only cause him to panic. Telling Discord was most likely the worst choice for Equestria, and not only her.

_I am alone in this. Oh, bollocks._

"Nope. You were your good old amusing self." Twilight grinned brightly, doing her best to suppress a sad frown.

"I'm glad to hear that. If I had done something to embarrass myself, I'd have to make sure nopony ever hears of it by shutting their mouth for a few weeks." he chuckled.

_Oh don't worry... they won't._

* * *

><p>Twilight spent much of that day thinking. Thinking about pretty much everything that happened so far, since the day Spirit moved into her home.<p>

About the progress he made, about the Chaos he loved, the words she weeks ago wrote down in her diary only to dismiss them the very next morning, the fun times they had and all the amazing things she learned of him... but most of all, about the impossible array of powers he possessed.

Discord did say the draconequues magic was something never written about and never researched. But was he even aware of the capabilities inside him?

Twilight tried to approach it logically, but there was no way to avoid the fact he was only given back a tiny fracture of his powers. How in the world then...

Fast learning? Could it be the draconequues learned that fast? Discord did also say some draconequues don't even use magic during their lifetime, having never practiced it since born, thus making them incapable of it, so that couldn't possibly be it - hard work was something all types of magic required.

What was it?

"**I'm bored**!"

Twilight jumped at least five feet high, draconequues's voice putting her out of her train of thoughts.

"You should really learn to like... pat ponies on the back or something..." she said quite distressed.

"But this is so much more fun, is it not?" The Spirit giggled adorably. She sighed.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Nothing too exciting; my head is still aching." he complained like a little child.

"Let's play _Chess Mess_. I want some relaxation."

"Sure, why not."

The game, due to its complicated set of rules, usually lasted long, but having so much to think about and being so confused left Twilight being utterly defeated far too soon. Discord seemed to have noticed this. At one point he actually let her get lost in thought in purpose, just to see if she really was thinking something over and over again. Sure enough, he spent about ten minutes looking at her while she stared at some nonexistent point in the air, not aware of anything around her, including the Spirit. And he hated to be ignored.

"My, my, just what is going around in that head of yours." he pondered as he harshly pinched her nose.

"**Ouch**! What gives?"

"You have dozed off for exactly..." he checked out the invisible watch on his wrist, "ten minutes and 46 seconds. You totally owe me an explanation."

"Ah." Twilight gasped silently as the realization hit her.

"It's nothing."

"Yeah, and I'm Princess Celestia." Discord snorted sarcastically. Twilight was slightly annoyed. It was pretty mean of him to put her through such a wonderful time yesterday and then forget all about it; then again he couldn't help it. The fact she didn't have a solid reason to be angry with him, yet was angry anyway only annoyed her even more.

"It is nothing that concerns you." she lied.

"I'd say it is the exact opposite. You've been acting weird since the morning."

"Ugh! Discord-"

"Something happened last night, did it not? What happened~ come on now, you can tell uncle Discord anythi-"

"It's about _you_."

Twilight took herself a moment of time to prepare before looking over at the Spirit. The smile was frozen for a moment on his face, soon replaced by a rather serious face. Twilight could see he was being careful for some reason.

"What about _me_?" he asked slowly.

Twilight nervously shifted her hooves, trying to find the most comfortable position on the floor as she would start an awkward, even slightly embarrassing conversation.

"I was just thinking... well, I am not sure if you're aware of that, but you-"

"... yes?" Discord hurried her up, by now looking pretty frustrated.

"... you changed." Twilight finished.

The Spirit's face expression didn't change much. In fact, he looked so indifferent to what she said, she just couldn't see what was going through his mind. Was he surprised? Was he angered by such a statement, was he accepting of it?

He glanced around, fidgeting his fingers. After a moment or two more of silence, Twilight realized what was wrong. He was uncomfortable like never before.

"It-it's good, you know!" Twilight tried, not knowing she was only making things worse for the chaotic being.

"Is-isn't that what we were aiming to do anyway?"

"It was your goal, not mine." Discord cut her off a bit coldly, finally making the unicorn realize.

"Oh..."

Somewhere from upstairs, Spike's quite snoring noises reached them.

"What was your goal anyway?"

"A mastermind of Chaos never reveals his plans, Twilight Sparkle." Discord replied a bit devilishly, this time with a small smile.

Well, duh. She should've known. Of course he would continue planning on getting his powers back and turning Equestria into a chaotic land. How could she doubt that even for a second?

Still, while not directly, he did admit he had changed. She recalled his words from last night.

But I have gotten you and some new friends in return, didn't I?

Discord may not have even been aware of how many friends he gained during his stay here and how differently some ponies started to look at him. Until last night, he probably never even gave it a thought; yet, he didn't remember most of the last night, Twilight thought sourly.

"I suppose I should've seen that coming." Twilight replied with a gentle smile. The Spirit arched his eyebrows.

"You're not upset that I have a plan?"

"Of course not; if anything I should've expected of you to have one. I doubt anything or anypony will change your plans anytime soon. After all..." she paused, to think her words through.

"I do believe that if I had something I love so deeply that nopony understands, I would probably fight for it. Whether it was wrong or right. I probably wouldn't be able to help it."

Probably not expecting such approach from her, Discord smiled, this time in appreciation, funny enough.

"Are you telling me you're accepting me for who I am?" he asked. The by now familiar disbelief was both visible in his eyes and audible in his voice.

Twilight laughed as she realized that she indeed just accepted who he was. Strangely, it wasn't half as hard as she thought it might be. In fact, it felt great. And kind of bonding.

"Yeah, I think I am telling you that." she gave a smile back, then used her magic to re arrange the chess figures into their starting position.

"Now that we got that sorted out, how about another game? I want a rematch." she smirked.

"...sure."

Twilight was soon way too much into the game, feeling both relieved and excited by their little conversation, having the burden finally lifted off her heart. She enjoyed the game so much she failed no notice the grateful look in Spirit's eyes.


	11. Weird Day

"Snow?" Spike gasped.

"What say you? My beloved snow has fallen?"

"Discord, you better not have anything to do with this!"

"If I had, the snow would pile up in a second dear; no this is the work of nature itself!"

Spike, Twilight and Discord had all stared in astonishment as the thin white curtain covered most of the ponyville during the early morning hours, but it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon - which meant a lot of snowballing, sleigh rides and the beginning of colder season. It came a bit earlier this year though.

"Wow, I can't wait to go out and build a snowpony!" Spike excitedly said, standing on Twilight's back and trying to get a better view through the window. The Spirit wasn't satisfied with that so he transported outside. It didn't took him long before he decided to transport back in though. Upon seeing Twilight's questionable look, he stuttered:

"I-it's f-f-f-freezing out there!"

"No way~" Twilight replied sarcastically, only to realize the Spirit was dead serious.

"Discord, what, if I may know, did you expect?"

"Certainly not that it will be that cold!" The Spirit grabbed little dragon and approached the fireplace with him - he pulled on his tale which, surprisingly, produced a flame strong enough to start a fire, but also earned him quite a glare.

"You can use your magic for that too, can't you?" Spike inquired.

"Nah, Celestia didn't give me that power - she obviously thinks I might start a forest fire or something."

Gee, I wonder why.

"Have you never been on the snow?"

The Spirit looked at her strangely.

"Never without using a spell that wouldn't cause me to freeze to death! My, so covering that village in 3 meters tall snow was probably quite mean of me."

"Yes, yes it was." Twilight confirmed as she sighed.

"But how will I go out then? I'll freeze!"

"Hmm, I may have a scarf and pair of gloves extra for you."

"Ooh, goodie! Let's get dressed and go play in the snow then!" The Spirit happily flew around the library. Standing next to equally confused Twilight, Spike asked:

"Any idea why is he so excited?"

"Beats me. Since I don't know him that well, my only guess is that he never technically played on the snow."

"Oh." Spike fell silent as Twilight searched through her closet for the winter clothing.

"Is it just me or has Discord been missing on a lot because of his ways?"

"Huh, now that you mention it..." she glanced again at the Spirit who impatiently tapped his hoof on the floor.

"Probably."

* * *

><p>"Twilight Sparkle, is this seriously the only thing you had for me?"<p>

"Oh come on, it looks adorable!"

"Exactly my problem, dear. Why can't I change it? I do have power to do that!"

"No, no, no, my mother made it for me, as well as the one I am wearing - I don't want you to be altering it one bit; you should be proud to wear it, understood? It was handmade!"

"It has... these... CUTE little stars all over it!"

"It's fancy!"

"It's PURPLE."

"It suits you! Now shush already, or you're staying home!"

Feeling like a small child for being ordered around like that, Discord finally accepted the fact his scarf and gloves were purple with blue and white stars over it without any argument.

But, his bitterness disappeared the moment he flew outside, feeling much better having his hands and neck wrapped in warm wool. It had been two hours since breakfast and picking appropriate clothes, so the snow cover became quite thick.

Discord flew up to one roof. Just as Twilight was wondering what was he up to, she noticed somepony leaving the house that Discord sat on so conveniently. She wanted to warn the stallion, but it was too late - in the next moment, a whole bunch of snow fell on him. The stallion's head remained out, and for a second he seemed a bit shocked. Twilight could already see a whole bunch of curses and yelling coming at the playful Spirit.

As the stallion freed himself of snow, he looked up just in time to see Discord flying off, laughing maniacally. He let out an 'oh' as he just realized something, and laughed, then continued on his way.

"That's it? An 'oh'? Isn't he upset?" Spike asked frustrated, probably wanting to see Spirit getting his portion of hate speech.

"Hmm, I think it's because he realized it was an innocent prank."

"What does that change? It's still Discord!"

"Spike, don't you see? This is good! He is getting accepted! Stop being such a Rainbow Dash, and don't judge him all the time."

"Well... he has been behaving pretty nice lately... in fact, wasn't he talking with Fluttershy just the other day on Pinkie's party?"

"Yes, isn't that amazing? I can't wait to see her, I have to ask her about it!"

"Alright, I'll try to get along." Spike said, though pretty unwillingly.

"Let's build a snow pony!" Discord suddenly popped in front of them. Twilight laughed.

"Fine, fine - let's go to the park, we'll have both snows and supplies there!"

The three made their way through the city. Discord was constantly making snowballs and shoving them in the coats of unsuspecting ponies. Most of them didn't appreciate that. It was chilly enough as it was, and they still weren't used to the sudden lowering of the temperature.

"Hey Twilight Sparkle, think fast!"

"Huh?"

She wasn't thinking fast; thus earning a snowball into her face. She shook it off easily,

"Brr! My, that is cold! Cut it off, we can play when we reach the park."

"Come on now Twilight Sparkle," Discord got closer to her, "don't be such an ice queen!" and with those words caused snow from a nearby roof to fall on her. His joke sent both him and Spike into hysterics. Twilight barely got out of the huge bunch of snow.

"Oh ha, ha, ha." she rolled her eyes.

It continued the whole way to the park. Apparently the idea of building a snow pony was forgotten as Discord started an all out snowball war with every single pony present in the park; and the number wasn't to be neglected. Most of the ponies agreed it is the payback time for everything he'd done; naturally, all through good fun.

Discord had to agree this wasn't quite going as he planned. Soon, he was mostly covered in snow, and he couldn't even fly because his wings froze. Once he finally landed, it took citizens of Ponyville a minute or two to completely bury him in snow. Exactly the opportunity Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to use as they climbed the small snow hill underneath which Discord was buried.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders claim this hill as their kill!" they joked, causing the light hearted laughter to spread among the ponies. What nopony expected was Discord suddenly bursting through the snow straight up and grabbing the three fillies as he yelled out in the silliest possible "monstrous" voice:

"I'm going to eat you~~"

It caused a huge game of tag.

Meanwhile, Spike tried to pick up Twilight's jaw from the ground.

"I know Twilight; it is pretty shocking."

"They are playing." Twilight managed, her pupils the size of sand grains.

"Yes, they are. It is pretty creepy now that I think about it." Spike noticed.

Twilight looked at the sky. Spike didn't knew why, but he had a feeling she hoped to find some answer to all this awkwardness up there.

"Twilight Sparkle, Dragonboy; why in the name of everything chaotic are you not playing?"

"Huh?"

Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped at Twilight, them apparently being "it" together with Discord."

"We got you; now we'll eat you!" With those words, three little fillies started to gently gnaw on her neck and mane, causing a series of tickling sensations and throwing Twilight into a laughing fit.

Spike could hardly believe the scene in front of himself.

"This day is so weird."

After a moment more of silence, he pulled a camera out of nowhere and started taking pictures.

"Hmm..." he looked curiously around, thinking. Taking pictures will be a good way... yes, and it would also be fun.

After being gnawed to death, Twilight could barely breathe.

"OK, OK, you win, just PLEASE enough; don't you know it is possible to die laughing?"

"Then that must be the best death in the whole world!" The Spirit added in as he slithered next to them.

"Good job, my little minions; now let us gnaw on some other unsuspecting pony... like BON-BON AND LYRA!" he yelled out as loud as possible; the two ponies that were until then hiding in the privacy of a snow covered bush squealed in feigned fear and ran as fast as possible when the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran through the deep snow towards them.

Discord was laughing out of pure delight.

"Those fillies are adorable!" he actually embraced his own body to show just how adorable he deemed them to be.

He embraced himself.

Spike took another memorable shot of Discord doing that and Twilight once again dropping her jaw.

"Oh, oh!" Discord noticed Spike's camera, and immediately grabbed Twilight.

"Take a photo of this!" then cradled her as if she were a baby. Needless to say, the unicorn wasn't happy with that.

"Oh, please! No way!"

"Hold still!"

"Hay no! I won't let youuuuwooow!" the fell into the snow. Or better said, Discord fell through, leaving nothing but big hole in shape of his body, while Twilight stood on his chest. Another funny shot.

"Sorry!" Twilight said through a grin.

"You OK?"

"Oh, I'm OK alright..." he suddenly tugged on her, pulling her down into the deep hole of snow he was in, and held her back in place so she wouldn't get up.

"Wow!"

"Shh! I have a great trick up my sleeve!"

Nevertheless, the close contact to the Spirit as she was forced to sit on his chest and stare into his, she noticed, brilliant, golden mismatched eyes ("stop thinking about that, stop thinking about how golden they are!") made her slightly embarrassed.

Discord didn't notice as he clicked his finger - in the next moment, he was sitting on a tree, holding her like a plush toy in his arms. Through the branches, Twilight could see they were on a nearby tree, as Spike was staring into Discord shaped hole with surprise.

"Twilight?" she heard him calling, worry in his voice.

"Oh Discord, that is so mean! He'll think you did something to me."

"If I wanted to, I would've done it a long time ago, don't you think?" he noticed with a playful smile.

"Hmm, I guess so."

"Now let's scare every scale off his body. This time, it's your turn."

"I don't know how to scare anypony!"

"There's a first time for everything, my dear." Discord noticed with a devilish glint in his eyes. He quietly flew to the ground, putting her down. They both sneaked to the small dragon, Twilight coming right behind him as Spike still stared into the hole, confused. Twilight gave one last insecure look to the Spirit, who gestured with his hand for her to hurry.

Twilight took a big breath.

"RAAWRR!"

"AAAIIIIGH!" Spike let out a weird, almost girly scream before falling into the hole, in the process accidentally taking about three photos in a row.

Twilight had to admit there was something quite delightful in doing this. Perhaps it was because she got to hear Discord's laughter, which she really liked, or because of Spike's hilarious face expression. Whatever it was, it was pretty enjoyable.

"That was brilliant, my dear! You're a fast learner!"

"Ha, ha, you guys! You almost scared me to death!"

Twilight was about to say something when she felt a poke on her back. She turned around to face a certain cyan Pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash! What a surprise!"

It was indeed - Twilight didn't expect her to approach her with Discord around.

"Yeah, I thought I might say hi." Dash replied with a smile, but not as confident as she usually was. Probably because of the Spirit's presence.

"Dash? Dash, is that you?"

"Spike? What are you doing down here?"

In the moments Dash spent getting Spike out, Discord's and Twilight's eyes met, both thinking about the same stubborn mare in front of them.

Twilight silently pleaded him for something, he got that. For what was she pleading exactly, he didn't quite know, since the Rainbow maned Pegasus was always hostile to him, rather than other way around.

Still, he didn't feel like ruining the fun day.

"Oh hello Rainbow Dash; you know we never got to settle that race - how about we do it now?"

Dash looked a bit stunned for a moment, but then replied with the best smile she could manage:

"You're on, Discord. And we're starting... now!" with those words Rainbow Dash swiftly flew into the air, but her element of surprise didn't work on the Spirit who was just as equally eager to win. Soon, the two blurs were flying in circled around the park in great speed.

"Wow, I didn't know Discord was that fast!" Spike noticed. Suddenly the two flew up above the clouds, and they couldn't see them anymore.

"Well, no sense in waiting for them, they'll probably take a while to fin- SPIKE, RUN!"

"What?" Spike wasn't fast enough to escape the gnawing attack of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight took the matter of photographing into her own hooves this time.

* * *

><p>Discord and rainbow Dash flew shoulder to shoulder, practically touching as they rose higher and higher into the cold snowy air. Once they reached the space above the snowing clouds, surrounded by the regular ones, Rainbow slowed down, causing surprised Discord to do so as well. She abruptly stopped and stood on a nearby cloud, eyeing him carefully.<p>

"OK, Discord... what is this all about?"

"Why, a friendly race, is it not, Rainbow Dash?" the draconequues smiled as he floated around her.

"No way. I still don't believe you're all about fun and games. I've been watching you today-"

"Oh dear, if you like me, you should just speak up!"

"Not like that, you mismatched schmuck!" Rainbow replied angrily on his teasing.

"You usually don't act this way! Just what is your plan?"

The smile was no longer on Spirit's face, not even an amused one. It kind of worried her.

"Just what is your problem, Rainbow Dash?"

"My problem is you!"

"Yes, yes, spirit of Chaos an' all," he dismissed the obvious, "but I have been behaving so nicely lately, almost everypony accepted me into your little society, and yet you... you just find something about me awfully bothersome. And I think- No, I KNOW it doesn't have as much with my chaotic personality as it has with something I had done."

He seemingly nailed it as Rainbow Dash stared at him in surprise.

"J-just what are you suggesting?"

The Spirit snickered as he got a bit closer to her.

"You, Rainbow Dash, are an Element of Loyalty. Being eternally loyal to your friends, you must have expected for them to be equally loyal to you. But," he made himself comfortable on the cloud, lowering himself to her eye level, "you didn't get your loyalty in return, am I right?"

2:0 for Spirit of Chaos, Discord thought with a smile as he watched the obviously horrified expression on her face.

"H-how-"

"How did I know?" Discord asked aloud. The he repeated, this time telling it more to himself:

"How DID I know, indeed... Well, to continue," he turned back to her again, "my best guess is that you, Rainbow Dash, are angry because you think I stole your friends."

And there it was - heavy blush on her face confirming everything he had said.

"Am I right, Rainbow Dash?"

Those words broke her - it was a bit sad to see strong Pegasus breaking, but also slightly amusing. It once again annoyed him that is wasn't nearly as fun as before.

"Yes, OK! You're right! To hay with it, you might as well know!" Rainbow Dash angrily yelled out; having nopony around, there was no better place for her to say everything that annoyed her about Discord to him and him only.

"First you convince Twilight you're so awesome! Then it turns out you really are being pretty good to everypony, and I don't understand why! I always thought you were doing it because you had a plan, but you had no powers! You even managed to talk to Fluttershy without upsetting her, which is totally a proof of you having changed! You even showed to actually be loyal to Twilight when you came back for her in the Ghastly Gorge!"

This last bit made Spirit shift uncomfortably. He never thought any of them clued in on that moment of weakness. Not good.

"Rarity thinks better and better of you, and Applejack even told me about your little pie contest or whatever... They all act like every my suspicion of you is silly! They should support me!"

"But what irritates me the most is-is-" she angrily dispersed a few cloud to let the steam out, but as she sat down again, she didn't say anything.

Discord's smile was long ago gone.

"It is because of Pinkie Pie, is it not?"

Rainbow Dash angrily stood up and got into his face, surprising him.

"She talks about you ALL the time! We can't do a single prank together without her mentioning just how AWESOME you and your pranks are! Even when we're not playing pranks on ponies, but just hanging out in a park or something, she has to bring you up sooner or later, saying what a wonderful friend you have came to be! You hang out together way too much!"

"Really? How nice of her!"

"That's not the issue here-"

"But Rainbow, dear, why didn't you simply join the fun? Pinkie Pie more than once told me of her regrets of not having you in my company."

Rainbow blinked, astonished to hear that, then shyly scratched her hoof on the cloud.

"I... I dunno..." she mumbled

"I know that if you could, you'd turn the world upside down again... but still, you changed and that has to count for something, I suppose..." she mumbled. There was something more to her attitude, Discord realized.

"Pride, my dear, does not suit you well and jealousy is a nasty accessory." Spirit advised, then teased her:

"Remember what happened with Mare-do-Well event?"

"You-! How do you-"

"I know many things Rainbow Dash, don't find it so surprising." he chuckled and got up. For a moment they just looked at each other.

"Discord, while I know honesty isn't exactly your thing, could you answer a question? Your answer would stay between us."

"I'll do my best not to lie, but I might be lying right now."

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Anyway... about that Ghastly Gorge thing... did you seriously come back for Twilight because you know... you had a feeling you could not abandon her?"

That little...! She wanted an honest answer to that? It reminded him heavily of when Twilight asked him whether he enjoyed to see her breaking down.

"The answer remains between us you say."

"I am the Element of Loyalty. Now that we finally solved my differences, I owe my loyalty to you as well."

In some different situation he would laugh her answer off; but he found himself trusting her.

"I really don't want to answer. That should be an answer enough."

"...I see."

"How about it then, Rainbow Dash? Will you join the fun? Or will you really question the loyalty of your friends?"

Rainbow got on her hooves and flew up slowly. She didn't answer.

Well... not concretely anyway.

"We still have a race to finish." He heard her say. She turned around to him, her smile this time not competitive nor challenging nor wicked. It was friendly. Forgiving, almost.

"Last one to catch the Dragonboy looses." he returned. With those words, the two sped down from the clouds, both smiling.

* * *

><p>"Wow, I took so many awesome photos today, Twilight! This is going to make an awesome photo album!"<p>

"... Spike, give me the camera."

"Why?"

"Quickly. Also, step aside a bit."

"Uh, OK. Oh, you want to take a photo of me? OK, but wait till I strike a poooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH!" Spike was simultaneously grabbed by a pair of hooves and pair of mismatched hands.

"I got him first!"

"Did not, you freaky liar!"

Twilight stared at the unusual scene in the snow. Rainbow Dash and Discord proceeded to have a friendly snowball fight.

"This day is getting weirder and weirder. Not that I complain." she added to herself when the two started laughing, enjoying each others company as well as their game.

Twilight stared some more. Then she took a photo.

* * *

><p>There was probably nopony that hadn't visited the park that day. There was definitely nopony that left the park without a smile on their face.<p>

Twilight and Spike spend much of the time taking turns in photographing other ponies and each other as they played. Applejack and Pinkie Pie definitely weren't the one to miss out on games in snow and even Rarity came out once she managed to pick a coat that was decent enough to wear out.

Twilight was wondering when Fluttershy would come, as she wanted to talk to her about Discord, but Applejack quickly reminded her she was busy with keeping her animals warm and fed during the snowy weather.

Still, the timid Pegasus managed to find some time in the late afternoon, when she appeared flying over the park, careful about picking where should she land. Before she even managed to do that though, the Spirit hit her with a flying snowball, that properly made her land in the soft snow.

Twilight promptly ran up to her, expecting the very sensitive Pegasus to be hurt by his actions; but she merely smiled.

"It's OK Twilight; it didn't hurt. Besides, I hardly believe he can help himself."

Of course.

"Oh, good. I was worried you'd be unpleasantly surprised."

"Oh, no no no, it is quite OK." Fluttershy smiled pleasantly.

"Spike, grab a camera will you? I need to talk to Fluttershy?"

"Oh? Is something the matter, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as Spike went off to take a photo of Discord entertaining some fillies - specifically, by stealing Diamond Tiara's tiara and turning her mane into a bunch of green leaves.

"Nothing serious, don't worry; I was just wondering what were you and Discord talking about the other day on Pinkie Pie's party - if it is not private, of course."

"Oh, well..." she glanced at the Spirit, "nothing really special. We actually got to talk about me, about that time back in the labyrinth; he was surprised I wasn't as easily corrupted, and I didn't want to talk about it, but he just wanted to mention he was impressed by my strength." She blushed slightly.

"Then we mostly talked about Ponyville. He seemed to like it here, despite it being... well, as he put it "pretty boring and regular place". But he surprised me the most when he apologized for making a bunny stampede last time he got out."

"What, he did?"

"Yes, though not directly - he just said something about how it was really mean of him, in a pretty apologetic tone. I think he was trying to say 'sorry' - even if he didn't, it is OK though. He really, really changed Twilight."

"Wow." Twilight was glad to hear such nice news.

"And he seemed to have made friends with Rainbow Dash, too." Fluttershy noticed as Dash threw a well aimed snowball into is head - the short was precise and strong enough to make him fall over, in process losing the tiara he levitated in the air.

"I don't know what happened during their race in the clouds, but they seemed to have finally made amends. I'm glad - Rainbow Dash was really getting very cranky."

"Well, I am not surprised. Rainbow Dash was just worried about us all, most likely."

"Yeah... in fact we might have to apologize to her... she probably didn't feel quite nice having been all by herself."

"True. We might as well do it alter - she is having a good time now."

The two joined the snowy fun for the rest of the day. Twilight observed though, all the fillies that played around with Discord as if he were their best friend. The grown up mares and stallions weren't looking at him as worried or as mean as before.

He himself looked like he genuinely enjoyed.

She could only hope that whatever plan might be on his mind, he would give it up. It was not likely, but hope is a meanie.

* * *

><p>"Ah-AH-AAAH-CHOO!"<p>

"Bless yah-ah-AH-CHOO!"

"How unexpected." the purple unicorn sighed.

Bringing a hot chamomile to Spike in his bed, which he conveniently placed next to the fireplace, Twilight shook her head, then turned to the Spirit; he was covered in several blankets and laying his big head on three pillows, looking tired as never before - but with a content smile.

"Well, I suppose I should have expected of you two to catch a cold."

"Oh come on Twilight Sparkle it is but a little snow. Nothing than can't be cured over nigh-ah-AH-CHOO!" His next sneeze was directed at the fire in the fireplace and turned its flames green for a couple of seconds. Twilight laughed.

"Nice one, Discord. Now sleep, both of you."

There was no need to say that twice - Spike was already snoring and Discord joined him soon enough, both of them tired from a playful day full of events. Once Twilight heard the Pegasi would melt the snow tomorrow and once she warned them about it, Spike and Discord stayed out even during the evening, the much bigger coldness not getting in way of their fun time in snow.

Before parting ways, Rainbow Dash received apologies from her friends, them saying they should probably not have completely shrugged her carefulness off and that even with Discord changing, they should've expected of her not go get along with him right away.

While she eagerly accepted their apologies, she too felt slightly guilty; even though she said that she was still keeping an eye on him in case he tries to do something, Rainbow did say something like 'he's not so bad I guess', which was good enough for now. In fact, quite a progress.

That night, Twilight fell asleep easily with amount of relaxation she hadn't felt in quite a while and dreamed of perfect future where she, her friends, Spike and Discord himself enjoyed the charms of Winter Wrap-Up. A weird, hardly attainable dream.

It was a really weird day after all.


	12. Lesson Loyalty

While Spike surprisingly didn't show symptoms of a cold and got better by the next morning, Discord, equally surprisingly, got worse. Nothing serious that needed hospital treatment, but worse enough for Twilight to forbid him from going out for just one day, convinced he was going to be much better by the time evening came if he rested.

"Oh you forbid me, is that it?" He repeated after her with slightly sore throat, eyeing her angrily.

"Give me one good reason not to fly out of here this instant."

"You'll collapse due to exhaustion and you have a fever - not to mention it is only getting worse, so you're in for a day of sleeping!"

"Hmpf, like you know - I'm feeling just fine!"

Despite his protests, he did spend the whole day laying in front of the fireplace, sipping gallons of tea Spike was making for him and napping. Now that he was silent and sleeping most of the time, Twilight could happily indulge in her studies; it was kind of mean to think of his illness as as opportunity to catch up with her studies, but the Spirit was taking up a lot of her time.

It was a nice, calm day Twilight spent working on her researches and chatting with Spike and on occasion, while he was awake, with Discord about the most trivial of stuff. She hadn't had such a calm day in a while. But of course, once all the studying was done she had to dedicate her evening to the draconequues, who by the end of the day felt quite better, and to Spike who was very eager to have a game night or something similar. It kind of crossed with her plans for that night.

"Come on Twilight let's play a board game, or have a movie night, or have some hot cocoa and tell scary stories!"

"Well aren't you one scary dragon." Discord mocked, earning a slightly ashamed and quite bitter glare from Spike.

Twilight glanced at them both, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Actually, I promised my friends we'll have a sleepover, all of us together."

"There you go Spike, mares do all of these stuff on sleepovers."

"Oh, shutty. So you're going out tonight." Spike noticed a bit saddened.

"Well, yeah so-"

"But why can't you have a sleepover here?" Spike asked hopefully.

"Well we were going to, since my place is most suitable - the Cakes are often too busy to allow Pinkie a sleepover or a party at the Sugar Cube Corner, Rarity doesn't even consider bringing any party materials in her shop, Rainbow lives in the sky, and we're all kind of worried if cloud walking spell wears off, Applejack's grandma goes to sleep early and Fluttershy can't imagine the noise near all of her animals. But I didn't want to bother Discord since he's ill, so we, uh... urgh, we settled for sleeping in Applejack's barn."

"There? How can you have a sleepover in a barn?" Spike arched an eyebrow, ignoring the Spirit who snickered at their misfortune.

"It is not that bad..."

"Twilight, your face cringes as you think about it."

"Well OK, fine, but they're my friends and I don't get to see them often lately! I'd spend time with them even if it were in a sewer."

"Well, Discord is fine now, as you can clearly see, so there's no need not to have a sleepover here."

"Oh goodness me, I need rest! No, no sleepover in Twilight's library I'm afraid!" The draconequues suddenly said, feigning being sick as he dramatically raised his hand to his forehead and lied down.

"I can't believe you!" Twilight exclaimed. "You'd really feign sickness to avoid me having a fun evening?"

"Sleepovers are girly!" was his only argument and the biggest mistake.

"Spike, go and inform the girls we are having a sleepover at the library!" Twilight stated stubbornly, ignoring the exasperating sigh that escaped the Spirit.

"Oh come on! You're doing that on purpose now!" The Spirit rebelled as Spike hurriedly left the library.

"Well, you feigned being sick to spite me - revenge is sweet." Twilight cut him off with a satisfied smile.

Mumbling something incoherent, Discord slithered out from underneath the warmth of his blanket and approached the unicorn as she opened a few books, going back to her studies. He sat next to her, eyeing her somewhat angrily.

"You can be so mean, Twilight Sparkle."

"I learned from the best, didn't I?" Twilight grinned, going through one of the books as the Spirit chuckled.

"Hmm, quite right. I guess you give as much as you receive."

A page paused in the air as Twilight tensed.

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

Discord fumbled with a splinter on the table edge before giving her a playful look.

"Exactly what I said. Don't you understand your own language?"

"Discord~" Twilight whined so annoyingly and so obviously on purpose he cringed, but nevertheless laughed at her frustration.

"What? I meant what I said, if you can't understand it, it is YOUR problem."

"Argh, you're impossible!... I can't concentrate on studies right now!" she shook her head as she closed her books.

"Oh, goodie, we can do something then!"

"Do we have to?" She asked teasingly, with feigned frustration and boredom in her voice. In turn, he pretended to be insulted before replying:

"Oh please; you know as well as I do that you're having a blast with me!"

"I could say the same thing about you then!"

"No way! How so?"

"Well, you're the one who always wants to do something with me on the everyday basis! Not that I complain of course, but you are! Even though you keep repeating I'm boring, I know you're having fun with me."

_That shut him up_, Twilight thought, satisfied with her victory. When she didn't receive any response, she glanced at him and burst into laughter when she realized he was pouting.

"Oh come on! Just relax!" In a fit of playfulness and inspired by their friendly chat, she put her hooves on his cheeks and stretched them gently, as if trying to make him smile - it took her a millisecond to remember he had done the same to her once before.

"Take off that 'mask' already!" She blurted out, not even realizing her words have hit a certain spot in Discord as he stared at her, doing his best to keep his surprise under control. Continuing to smile, she let go of him.

"You know, you're so much more approachable when you're relaxed. Like yesterday. Remember how nopony was afraid of you or anything? They were hanging out with you, even went along with your antics and games!"

The sweet smile she gave him only terrified him more.

"Isn't that nice?"

Is that nice? Good question indeed, Discord thought once he managed to arrange his thoughts properly.

"Mmn..." he mumbled incoherently, being still quite stunned by the bluntness of her words.

"Sorry?" Twilight asked, thinking she didn't hear his nonexistent reply well.

"I, I just said," he replied, putting on his best arrogant smile, "sure, why not. I guess it is nice."

Twilight laughed. He had no idea what made her laugh about his cocky reply and he wasn't about to ask. Yet he wanted to know so badly.

Taking in a deep breath to regain his usual composure, he suddenly went into a coughing fit, immediately erasing the cute smile off Twilight's face.

"Hold on, I'll get you some honey and tea!"

Discord didn't protest as she summoned the pot of still hot tea and a jar of golden honey to the table. Without even caring to take a cup, he grabbed the pot and drank from it, feeling the hot liquid soothing his sore throat. While his inappropriate action left Twilight confused for a bit, she quickly brushed it off and magically used a spoon to grab a big portion of honey.

"Say AAAAH!" she said, trying her best not to laugh.

"You better be kidding me." Discord replied, seemingly annoyed.

"Oh come ON, it is just a joke!"

She was way too playful this afternoon. Unfortunately, he seemed to like that side of her which, truth to be told, rarely popped out. It was very hard to resist her game of feeding.

"No." he replied simply, hoping she'd let it go.

Why did he even hope? He stared in confusion as she suddenly sang:

"_Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate,_

_Don't want to hear about what kind of food you hate,_

_You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate,_

_So eat it!_"

It was painfully familiar and horribly catchy. He found himself chuckling.

_"Don't you tell me you're full,_

_Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it,_

_Get yourself an egg and beat it!_

_Have some more cheesecake, have some more pie,_

_It doesn't matter if it's boiled or fried,_

_Just eat it, eat it, just eat it, eat it!_"

Twilight Sparkle was singing. Not that her voice was bad, but the thought itself was amusing. Having the real thing doing it in front of him and singing TO him with a spoonful of honey was pretty much priceless.

"Oh, fine, FINE!" he replied through laughter. He decided to disgust her a little though. Maybe then, these silly ideas won't come to her mind anymore.

With expertise of a French pony, he put out his overly long snake tongue and wrapped it around the spoon bowl, taking in the honey with nothing but his tongue.

"EEP!" Squealing in surprise, Twilight allowed the Spirit to have his spoon, staring in disbelief as he took in the whole dining utensil into his mouth.

"... uhh... did you eat it?" She decided to check after several long seconds of staring at him.

Her answer came quickly as the Spirit once again stuck his tongue out, it wrapping around the now honey-free spoon. He took the seemingly clean spoon in between his talon fingers and offered it to her.

"Thanks." He said politely with a teasing smile.

"Uhh... no problem." Using her magic, she made the spoon reappear in the kitchen sink. An awkward silence ensued. Then Twilight snorted.

"You still ate it."

"Oh, shutty."

* * *

><p>"Twilight~ we're here, dear~!" Rarity announced with a recognizable sing-along voice.<p>

"Oh, just in time!" Spike hopped out of the kitchen to greet his crush, a cute apron tied around his waist.

"We just finished baking some home made pizza for you guys, along with a few other treats!"

"Home made pizza? That's the best kind!" Rainbow Dash happily rushed of into the kitchen, not even caring to greet the host.

"Look at her; actin' like she never had pizza before." Applejack rolled her eyes, followed by timid Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie bounced her way into the library, as cheerful as always.

"Oh, I'm so, so, SO excited we're all having a sleepover! It is going to be so much fun! We'll play games, and do each others hair and watch a movie, and so so so much more!"

Five visitors made themselves comfortable as they lounged around in the library, waiting for Twilight to appear - Spike informed them she was making some final preparations on the food and that she'll be there shortly.

"Twilight? In the kitchen?" Applejack asked in disbelief, eyeing her friend who were equally surprised.

"That pony can cook?"

"Why do you always assume that I can't cook?" A faint question was heard from the kitchen, throwing them all into a laughing fit. Though, truth to be told, Spike did most of the hard work.

Fluttershy looked around as looking for something - or in this case, for somepony.

"Um, Spike, where is Discord? I, I heard he was sick so I brought something for his cough, and..." The more she spoke, quieter Fluttershy got as she pulled out a big plastic red bottle and gave it to Spike; some of the few last words were inaudible, but she spoke nevertheless. Pretending to hear it all, Spike waved his hand.

"He said that he felt better and wanted to catch some fresh air - he should be back soon." Spike replied, eyeing the bottle - it appeared to be some strong medicine. Shrugging, he absentmindedly put it on the table in the middle of library.

"Food is ready! Twilight announced as she magically brought in a big square platter with very colorful pizza on it; topped with dandelions, daisies, mushrooms and some hay, sinking in lots of tomato juice and melted cheese. Rainbow Dash followed her eagerly looking at the pizza as if it were the first time she ever saw one.

"Watch out for that tongue of yours Rainbow, or it'll fall out!" Pinkie teased as Rainbow almost literally drooled over her piece of pizza.

"Hey; I had a long day of practice and didn't eat almost anything! I think I deserve a piece of pizza, and I'll drool over it all I want." Rainbow Dash finished as she opened wide to take a bite of pizza. She was unpleasantly surprised when she bit into the air.

"W-what? Where is my piece? Oh gosh, not the cider thing all over again!" She cried, then noticed her friends giggling.

"Don't worry Rainbow Dash, that's just Discord playing around." Twilight explained.

"How come doesn't he show up?" Pinkie Pie looked around expectantly, hoping to see him appear suddenly.

"I don't know..." Twilight replied a bit absentmindedly, "... I guess he considers this amusing."

"Well, never mind him then! Enjoy my pizza, Discord!" Rainbow said out loud to the Spirit, and took a new piece. Soon the room was filled with sounds of their chatting and soft laughs as Spike tried to show pictures of the time Discord summoned him a big, manly beard to Rarity. As expected, she wasn't very impressed.

Soon enough Discord himself appeared, apparently having been outside on the still chilly air, but this time he didn't seem to have a need to cause a scene or ruckus of any sort. He quickly hid beneath a fat blanket and took a light nap in front of the warm fireplace. He wasn't going to stay asleep for long, though.

After they somehow managed to finish three huge platters of pizza (mostly thanks to Rainbow and Applejack, who somewhere along the way started an eating contest with Pinkie being the judge), Rarity happily declared she wanted all of them to do each others mane, which Applejack was this time OK with, deciding she might as well try it out since Rarity liked it so much - Rainbow Dash on the other hand, was a whole different story.

"Oh come on Rainbow Dash, just look what I did with Fluttershy!" Rarity gasped as she stared at the yellow Pegasus, having made her long pink mane into many long, thin French braids. The edgy manestyle didn't quite suit her soft persona, but it did look good on her.

"Ah know it seems silly Rainbow - but it's actually a bit fun when keepin' it simple." Applejack remarked as Spike did his best to turn her mane into two pigtails.

"Nuh-uh, no way. There is nopony that could ever make me agree on a silly manecut!"

"Rainbow Dash, don't say it!" Twilight warned, but alas, it was too late - Discord was already wide awake, and was standing behind the colorful Pegasus with a most wicked grin.

"Did somepony say 'silly manecut'?"

Rainbow Dash turned to look at him and saw his talon fingers ready to click.

"...oh, for Pete's sake."

A click of fingers after, Rainbow Dash was presented to her friends with a rainbow colored afro. Pinkie was the first one to burst into a loud, crazy laughter, while the rest of them tried their best to endure without it. Applejack fell victim to it the second, and dragged them all into wave after wave of rib-hurting giggles.

"Get me a mirror!" Dash demanded, frustrated, to which Discord readily replied with summoning one. A stare of horror Dash gave to her reflection turned into a grimace before she too started to laugh as well.

"Hey, this is actually fun! Do one for Rarity!"

"Heavens, no!" Rarity gasped in horror, but there was no escaping it - a click of fingers was all that was necessary for her mane to turn into a short, round bob of bright orange color.

"Orange? Why orange of all colors?"

"Because I was kind enough not to make it green." Discord replied, stunning the fashionista.

"How did you know I dislike green mane?"

"He knows a lot of things." Twilight rolled her eyes, not expecting to say that in unison with the Spirit:

"I know a lot of things."

Their ready and identical replied caused another round of laughs.

After Discord tried out several more mane styles on a now pretty playful pack of mares and after they had to tickle-fight him to force him to give them their original manes back, they sat down to munch on some snacks and put on a lame horror movie that they didn't really watch - they were more commenting on how stupid it was, in the meanwhile chatting.

Then Rarity started a conversation some of them were both eager or uneasy to have.

"So girls~ what is it that I hear about some of you having a specific kind of interest in stallions?"

The reactions was very obvious; Fluttershy immediately hid behind her long mane and Applejack bit her lip. Pinkie Pie on the other hand replied:

"You mean a special somepony? Nope, no such thing! I don't need nopony as long as I have you guys!"

Twilight laughed; being an egghead she always was, she felt obligated to reply since she knew a bit on that subject.

"Now Pinkie, that may be what you're saying right now, but sooner or later a moment will come when you'll wish for somepony to share your life with in a bit more intimate and romantic way. Like..." Twilight paused for a second to think, "...somepony who will be there every morning when you wake up to make you company. Somepony who will do things with you, and no matter what it is, even if you used to hate it, it will turn out fun because of them. Somepony who can share their private thoughts with you with no fear or shame, things like that, you know?"

Twilight munched on some snacks. Suspicious silence filled the room, so she broke the stare from the movie, and looked at her friends: all of them, including Discord, seemed a bit surprised by her response.

"How do ya know so much about that stuff?" Applejack asked in a curious tone, and Rarity's eyes sparkled immediately; but Twilight waved her hoof, realizing what they just concluded:

"No, no you guys, I don't have anypony special; I think that is just pretty much what everypony is wishing for in their partner. I know its what I would wish for."

"A mare can talk like that only out of experience my dear." Rarity sneakily said; despite what Twilight had told them, all the eyes were on her now. Twilight sighed, not knowing how to get out of this one.

Luckily, Applejack had something to say.

"Now y'all; don' bother her so much. After all, Rarity, if ya brought the subject up, ya obviously have something to say about it." She wisely noticed; and indeed, Rarity gained a crimson shade all over her face that immediately attracted their attention.

"Thanks Applejack; for a moment there I thought I will never hear the end of it." Twilight sighed as Rarity was overwhelmed with Pinkie's much too curious questions.

"No problem, sugar cube. Now Ah'll bother the hay out of her for bothering you." With those words, Applejack along with very curious Pinkie Pie started to bombard Rarity for details. Rainbow and Fluttershy were both aside, one of them slightly disgusted, while the other one too shy to discuss such matters.

"I can't believe it." Twilight heard soft muttering and looked to her side - Spike was staring at Rarity with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Oh Spike, don't sulk now."

"But, Rarity...she..she-"

"You never know, she might be talking about you, you know." Twilight's word gave the small dragon a new sense of hope; he quickly rushed over to eavesdrop on Rarity's shy descriptions.

"You make me wanna puke. Is this really what you girls do? Talk about your crushes instead of watching this magnificent piece of movie?"

"Huh?" Twilight arched her eyebrows on Discord's question and glanced at the film - it was in the middle of a scene where a pony was escaping through the dark words from something chasing her.

"Magnificent? It is the cheesiest horror ever made!"

"I find it unbelievably entertaining. Just look at all the mess this monster does to these poor ponies! Cuts their forests down, bring some roaring machines that spew light out of their eyes; they even eat pigs! Imagine that! I mean seriously, just who made this movie?"

"Obviously some poor mind with no sense of realistic approach to a horror movie." Twilight shook her head. Still, she joined Discord in viewing the movie, having fun going against Discord's logic with her own. By the time movie was over, Rarity was long done with her story and instead used the creepy movie music as a thematic music for a scary story of her own.

"And once she opened the box... inside she found... cotton."

"What? Cotton? ... um, what about it?" Fluttershy asked in confusion, making Rarity sigh.

"I specifically said there was SILK in the box, silk! NO cotton! Imagine a dress for the Gala of nothing but cotton; ugh, the mere thought is dreadful!"

"How about I tell you all a scary story?" Discord suggested.

"Please do," Rainbow Dash moaned, "Rarity here has a scary storytelling potential of a sponge."

"I say..." Rarity muttered.

"Well then, gather round, little ponies, for I want to share an amazing story with you! Naturally, that calls for a slight change of ambient..." with those words, the room got dark as Discord magically put out the light. The frightened gasps stopped once Discord summoned a small, bluish flame in his hand that threw an eerie shadow over his face.

And then he started doing what he was best in - narrating a rhyming story, but with a voice so dark and so different it was chilling to the bone.

"_There was once a pony, white as the snow_

_or at least they told me it was a pony, who would ever know._

_It was a very unique pony indeed,_

_Always wearing a tie and a black suit of tweed._"

He paused a bit darkly; Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had already squeezed next to each other, while Rarity, who was tense like never before, on Spike's happiness clutched him to her chest firmly, most likely not even noticing she was gently suffocating the little dragon.

"_You see, this pony had none of its mane,_

_despite it's rich white tail, its head wasn't the same ._

_Nopony knew if that pony was sick,_

_or if somepony else took his mane slick._

_But that's not what made the pony special at all._

_The difference it owned was not quite small._

_What made it different was something like a spell,_

_for this pony's face..._" he made a dramatic pause as he slowly leaned in forward, the flame in his hand making the shadows dance across his face

"_...was just an empty shell_." For what seemed like barely a second, Discord's face disappeared, leaving nothing but a flat white surface - that second was enough to startle everyone and make them gasp, while Fluttershy barely suppressed a scream.

"_No eyes or nose, mouth or teeth,_

_its face was just a white empty heath._

_Nopony knew what was with that,_

_many suspected it was the cause of somepony's wrath_."

At this point, Spike already turned blue, so Twilight had to warn Rarity about it with a poke of her hoof; but she herself proceeded to gently squeeze his arm.

_"And to this very day,_

_that pony is looking for somepony to pay,_

_for the disappearance of its gorgeous face,_

_somepony must take the grave's place._

_And rumor it is, that at this time of year,_

_it visits Ponyville and sheds around fear!_"

"Pff, yeah right." Rainbow Dash's whisper was audible to everyone, but her suspicion didn't make anypony anymore relaxed.

"_Oh Rainbow dear, believe me, you must..._

_For it is said it comes first after those of no trust_."

Even Rainbow had to gulp at this point.

"The last known case of sighting of the faceless pony was in fact right here in Ponyville," Discord continued, stopping the rhyme and taking on a different attitude, seemingly confused, "in a certain home of one of the Elements of Harmony. I forgot where it was..." Discord pretended to think while by now positively scared to death ponies squeezed each other in a huge hug.

"That's right! Oh goodness!" He suddenly stood up, his legs and torso the only thing visible as his flame flickered faintly and his long neck disappeared in the darkness.

"It is said... it resides in the house of the Element of..."

And then he descended to their eye level.

"...**Magic**!"

Discord's head turned into a head of a white faceless pony with no mane.

Screaming at the top of their lungs, six mares and Spike scattered around the library, hiding wherever they could in matter of a few second: then everything went silent. Discord didn't return the lights; instead, he sang eerily, loud enough for all of them to hear:

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are,_

_the faceless pony is not that bizarre._

_it just wants some friends, somepony for play,_

_but if you keep on hiding, where you're hiding, you'll stay._"

He laughed wickedly as his rhyme ended. Despite having calmed down and knowing nothing actually happened, the fright Discord gave them all was too much to bear; Twilight simply couldn't force herself out of the big basket that she usually kept umbrellas in. That faceless pony head would give her nightmares.

Was Discords' song a threat?_ If you keep on hiding, where you're hiding, you'll stay_... who knew what he was going to do.

Silence surrounded the room as nopony dared to come out.

"_Nopony is brave enough to face the guilt?_

_Then in your hideouts you'll stay, for you only rebuilt!_"

Twilight almost cursed when basket started to reform around her, tightening around her. She tried to struggle and yell out but was too shocked to do so. Having no idea what was going on, she relaxed and let whatever was happening happen.

And then she opened her eyes.

The library was lit up and she was no longer in the basket. Her and all her friends were outside, observing Discord as he fought for the air he lost during laughing his lungs out.

"Wow, that sure was scary!" giggling, Pinkie Pie jumped into Twilight's view and the unicorn then yelled out in surprise. Pinkie was white from head to toe, her mane included, wrapped tightly in a white bed sheet... no in fact, both her her skin and mane became a sheet. Like she was made of cotton.

"Discord pulled a little trick on us with a final spell." Dash replied - as Twilight glanced at her she noticed Rainbow's coat took on the pattern and hardness of red bricks that decorated her chimney - she must've hidden in there. Rainbow looked like a well assembled piece of fillies' playing blocks.

"That means..." Twilight looked at her legs - she was made out of stiff, wooden fibres. She didn't know whether should she be impressed by such magic, horrified by her appearance or happy that the whole thing was over.

" This is pretty impressive." She finally decided, studying Fluttershy's skin that was now papery, as she hid inside one of the shelves that held many papers.

Rarity, who took on an interesting pattern of wood Twilight's closet was made of, studied her skin with a certain interest. Spike, bearing the same skin, was right next to her, having apparently hidden with her in the dark closet.

"This would make quite a fancy dress pattern."

"Come on Discord," Applejack, with her skin of plastic, having hidden in a cupboard in the kitchen, tried to pull Discord to his feet, "enough of this, I want my old skin back."

Still crying of laughter, the Spirit clicked his fingers, drawing relaxed sighs from ponies.

"Now wasn't that fun?" He finally asked. The ponies all just laughed in agreement.

"All this action made me sleepy. I don't know about you, but I'm crashing." Rainbow concluded, to the surprise of suddenly saddened Spirit.

"You can say that again; this fuss has made me tired." Rarity agreed, and soon all of them, evem Discord, decided to go to sleep.

Discord was kind enough to offer to make them a better place to sleep for all of them so they wouldn't have to sleep in not as comfortable sleeping bags. Once they agreed, Twilight's bedroom practically became a single huge bed where at least ten ponies would fit comfortably with enough room for themselves.

"Made it from clouds, but I enchanted them, so you can all walk on them - they are so-"

"Plush?" Rainbow interrupted, suddenly remembering Discord's lounging on a cloud in the labyrinth. Discord gave her but a smile.

"Oooh, so bouncy!" Pinkie Pie took her sweet time in testing the bounciness of the bed, only stopping one the Spirit tripped her. It took them quite some time before they finally settled down, but once they did, they fell asleep quickly.

But Twilight Sparkle couldn't sleep. She stared at the ceiling, still excited and happy about what a wonderful night this had turned out to be.

After she lay asleep for almost an hour, she suddenly felt her stomach rumbling and realized that despite the amount of leftover pizza, she didn't ate much during the evening. Slowly and quietly she got up, watching not to step on Pinkie's mane and avoiding Discords' tale, as he crashed on the bottom of the huge bed and went down the stairs - in the darkness, she didn't see a corner of the wall and bumped her hoof strongly against it.

"Ah! To hay with it!" she cursed and limped over to the table, not turning on the light and enjoying the natural faint shine of Luna's Moon that was quite strong that night. A cold pizza lay there. Heating up would be to much work at this time of night, she thought. Then she got an idea - spice it up with some hot sauce.

She was about to head into the kitchen, when she noticed the red bottle on the table.

"Oh, there it is. Huh. Rainbow and Applejack probably wanted to spice up their contest. Pfff! Spice up... I'm killing me!" She laughed to herself as she took the bottle and poured a bigger portion of the sauce it all over several pizza slices she was about to eat. Biting into it, she almost choked when she heard Discord coming down the stairs, startling her.

"Seriously, can't you keep your voice down?" He yawned as he clicked his fingers, casting a barrier over her bedroom so her friends could sleep in silence.

"Oopsh, shorry. Ah wash jusht ahmushin' mshef."

"What?" Discord arched an eyebrow as he approached her, swiftly grabbing a pizza slice and eating it in one gulp. Twilight swallowed and said:

"I said, sorry, I was just amusing myself." She smiled.

"I can only imagine." Discord rolled his eyes as he sat next to her, already eating his third piece.

"So," Twilight started as she herself bit into a second slice, "did you enjoy yourself tonight?"

"Heh," Discord chuckled, "do you really have to ask me such questions?"

Twilight shrugged. "I guess it is just nice to hear it from you every once in a while."

"Well aren't we sentimental." Discord remarked as he tried to pick out a piece of cheese form in between his teeth. Still, he finally replied:

"It was a lot of fun; I haven't used chaos in such a creative and amusing way for some time already."

A memory of a world he conjured a few days earlier while drunk flashed across Twilight's mind, but she ignored it. They spent several minutes feasting on the leftovers, Twilight having eaten quite a lot.

"Gosh, this sauce sucks!" She suddenly said way too loudly and to Spirit's surprise, grabbed the sauce bottle and threw it against the floor.

"It can't be THAT bad." He suggested. As a reply came over the top, horribly loud and obnoxious laughter Discord didn't know she was capable of producing. Or was willing to.

"It is~" She whined, now sounding like a baby and finished her final pizza slice. Then she started rolling all over the floor and kept laughing like, for a lack of better description, a complete lunatic.

"Twilight Sparkle, just what has gotten into you?" Discord asked, not sure if he should be amused or concerned.

"Now that I think of it, that sauce only ruined my appetite." Twilight stopped rolling, simply laying on the floor and slowly got up on all her four legs, that were now noticeably shaking. Discord let out a loud gasp when she suddenly threw up.

"What the-?" Doing the first thing he could think of, he summoned her a glass of water, but she kept refusing it. Discord scanned the pizzas, his mind needing only a second to realize the problem was not in them as he ate it too - and then he remembered the red bottle Twilight threw to the floor. With a click of fingers, he summoned a small orb of yellow light to help him see.

He picked the bottle up to check the expiring date, only to surprisingly realize it wasn't a hot sauce at all. The white label read a lengthy description:

_! CAUTION !_

_Take only A SINGLE teaspoon of medicine with drinkable liquid PER DAY. Bigger amounts can cause potentially dangerous symptoms that vary from one individual to another; known to cause mania/depression, sudden mood swings, fevers, conscious losses, purging, strong headaches, shivering, strong hallucinations etc._

Drinking more than half of the bottle can result in permanent or long lasting loss of consciousness.

Do not consume any food three hours before or after taking medicine.

"...**WHAT IN TARTARUS ARE THEY PUTTING IN A COUGH MEDICINE!**" Discord roared, now furious. He tried to think.

_Think, think dammit! What spell could possibly help her?_

It hit him then that he never in his entire life used any kind of healing magic.

"Bloody Chaos!" He cursed his own powers, or better said, the lack of them, feeling he was starting to panic.

Behind him, Twilight started sobbing for no particular reason. And that's where Discord got serious.

Without wasting another second, he took her into his arms and brought her to the bathroom. The first thing he did, and it definitely wasn't pleasant, was making her throw up again in the toilet with some magical help, hoping it would get at least some of the toxins out of her system. That seemingly calmed her down a bit, but he decided she needed professional care. Grabbing the first blanket he saw, he wrapped her in it and then clicked his fingers.

Nurse Redheart screamed when Discord suddenly appeared in the hospital lobby.

"D-D-D-YOU!" She finally managed.

"This pony need intensive care, now!" He blurted out, ignoring her frightened stare as he lowered himself to her level, showing her the condition Twilight was in.

"Oh my!" The nurse immediately caught her cool, though still slightly shaken by appearance of distrusting Spirit and approached Twilight whose breathing was quick and shallow. The blanket Discord wrapped her in was already soaking wet from her sweating.

"She drank a lot of this." He pushed the bottle into Redhearts' hooves. Upon seeing the label, her irises got as small as peas.

"Doctor! Doctor, we have an emergency!" She ran into an office and dragged the elderly pony out. It took him a second to eye the bottle and Twilight, taking in Discord's appearance with barely a bat of an eye and immediately called for nurses who took Twilight away. Discord tried to follow them, but nurse Redheart stopped him.

"Ehm, excuse me, err... Sir, I'll have to ask you to remain in the waiting room and-"

"I am not stupid you know; I saw the look on your face once you realized what the bottle was. She is in danger, and I am not leaving her even for a second."

The nurse couldn't do much as she watched the Spirit quickly following the nurses that took Twilight into an ambulance; they did they best to ignore him as he floated above them, watching their every move.

Twilight was now without conscious and the nurses quickly started working on her, two of them working with some spells Discord never saw before, thus having no idea just what was going on and the third one preparing some strange machine that, Discord noticed with a certain discomfort, looked a bit menacing. Deciding he really did not want to see what was going on, yet wanting to be of help, he realized there was one thing he could do. He closed his eyes and in the next second, with his signature click of fingers, disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Oh dear, oh dear, w-what is going on, where am I? Why is everything so weird? Why is everypony spinning? Wait, where is everypony for that matter? They were here moments ago! Oh, there they- WHY are they shapeshifting? Oh for the love of Equestria, why is everything upside down?"<p>

Twilight wandered her own hallucinating mind as the world span, turned upside down, changing colors and shapes; completely rebuilding itself over and over again in seconds and crumbling down just as fast, followed by so many random sounds, some of them long forgotten words, some of them never heard songs, the noises that seemed to be from another world.

_"Vertigo! Vertigo everywhere!"_

_It wasn't your hair, that bounces in the breeze or even your eyes, as blue as the seas... _

_Cyber Ponies-hahahaha!_

_One day, I will become the Pirate King! I will fine One-_

_I mean are you supposed to be a dentist, or are you supposed to be a time lord... _

_"You... are going to LOVE ME!"_

_Oh no, it's the Bro! Chair mode activated, boop!_

_Hey Twilight? Do you like, mmmm, **BANANAS**? 'Cause there's plenty of bananas **ON THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON**!_

Twilight was suddenly shot through the air as countless images passed her by and landed on the moon, quite literally, where she was greeted with an awkward scene of Luna drinking tea and wearing a top hat. Before she managed to say anything, Luna eyed her and produced a mustache on her nose.

"Like a Sir." She said with a distinct Canterlot accent. And then she disappeared.

Oddly enough, everything suddenly went calm. The world didn't shift or change anymore and she could even feel a breeze on her face. Finally rid of the colorful and almost sick imagery that flashed painfully before her eyes, she felt calm and took a big breath of relief.

"Just what is going on?"

Then, somewhere in the sky, a star shined slightly stronger. Soon enough, Discord feel right down from it, for some reason not being able to stop himself and screaming at the top of his lugns and landed on the Moon a few feet away from her, leaving a deep print of his body in the Moon's ground. Pulling himself out, he coughed a few times as he shook his head to rid himself of the Moon dust.

"Discord? Are you alright?" Twilight panicked as she offered him a hoof and helped him come out.

"Oh, I'm quite alright my dear. It is you who is in danger." He managed.

"Discord, what is going on? Where am I? The last thing I remember before things got weird was you and my eating pizza! Did you do something?" She finally asked angrily, then gasped as a thought occurred to her - what if he discovered his massive powers?

But she let out a breath of relief when he answered:

"No you silly, I didn't do anything. You are sick." He paused, then took a breath and told her exactly what happened, his story draining every single drop of blood from her face.

"Oh gosh, I am so stupid! I shoud've noticed something, it was stupid of me to eat it without knowing what it was!"

"It was dark, you couldn't see the label." Discord tried to console her, but Twilight was overwhelmed with guilt.

"And what about my friends? Oh, I must have them so worried! I ruined the whole evening!"

"Well, actually, they are still asleep. I cast that spell earlier and forgot to remove it, and I didn't want to cause a ruckus and wake them all up."

"Oh..." His words calmed her down a bit.

"So... how bad is it?"

"Well, according to that bottle, it is dangerous enough to put you in coma. But I think you'll be alright," he quickly added as he noticed a fright in her eyes, "since you haven't taken that much."

"Still, your condition was horrifying! The moment I saw you got sick, I started to panic and didn't know what to do for a few moments! You really scared me there, Missy!" He finished waving his finger, much like a father scolding his daughter.

"S-sorry!" Twilight bent her head, shooting him a shy grin. Discord gave her a wicked smile as he ruffled her mane.

"I'm just messing with you. Seriously though, be a bit more careful."

Twilight suddenly felt a weird, foreign pain in her stomach and throat - in fact her whole digestive system felt like it was twisting, and Discord noticed it.

"I'm pretty sure they're pumping your stomach right now." Twilight's face cringed painfully. Realizing looking at her like that was as equally painful as cutting his own tail, he clutched one of her hooves in support, until the pain went away after a couple of minutes. Twilight gave him a thankful nod, signalizing he could let go.

"Phew, that was a weird sensation...So wait, why are you here anyway? I mean, you don't seem like a hallucination."

"I figured you'd be a bit lost, so I came to make you company and put you at ease." Discord replied with a posture of a heroic knight on a white hor- uh, never mind.

"Oh, I see." Twilight simply replied. When she said nothing else, Discord asked, a bit frustratingly:

"Well, did it work?"

"Huh? OH!" Twilight laughed softly.

"Oh, yes, definitely! Thanks, Discord. Really, what would I do without you?" She questioned half jokingly.

"Hmm, probably be still indulged into your boring old researched of Parasprite's mating process or something."

"Were you digging through my things again?" Twilight asked suspiciously, but not really expecting an answer. She sighed as she stared into the huge sky covered with billions of stars.

"In any other situation, I would love this scenery." She admitted.

"Can't you enjoy it now?" Discord wondered.

"No, because I think I'm waking up... or something. It feels weird, like I'm floating."

"Ah! You're slipping away from hallucinations and starting to dream. I'll leave you to your sleep then; you need it, trust me."

"Alright. Thanks again Discord." Twilight smiled sweetly as the world around her became fluffy and cloudy and Discord slowly disappeared from her eyesight.

"You're a true friend."

* * *

><p>"Twilight!"<p>

Voices of five of her friends and Spike made Twilight jerk, nearly tipping over her breakfast (which consisted of nothing but very light, barely salty soup). They all rushed over to her hospital bed, each of them trying to get a good look on her, and asking countless questions.

"Whoa, whoa guys, calm down! I'm OK now, really. How did you know I was here, anyway?"

"Spike received a letter just about fifteen minutes - apparently Discord used him as a mailbox to inform us of everything that happened."

Huh, another spell he discovered he was capable of. Unsurprising, but slightly concerning.

"Oh Twilight, I am so, SO sorry!" Fluttershy started, only to be interrupted by Spike:

"No, it is my fault - I should've put the medicine where it belonged, in the cabinet!"

"Guys, guys! It is my, and MY fault only, OK? I should've read the label."

"But-"

"I SHOULD. Have read. The label." Twilight firmly said, making any arguments of whose fault it was cease once and for all.

"Oh darling, I'm so glad to see you're fine. Rainbow Dash here nearly lost her marbles when she read the letter."

"I was worried!" Rainbow defended, and earned a hug from Twilight, who then pulled them all into a group hug.

"Thank you all guys for coming, but really, I'm alright. The doctor said he only need to perform a few tests more just in case - I'll be going home by this afternoon."

"Oh, thank goodness." Applejack concluded, when Pinkie asked:

"So, where is Discord anyway? That guy just keeps disappearing."

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since last night. He probably went outside to entertain himself or something."

The five mares and Spike kept talking to her, and it almost looked as if they were about to relive the fun moments they had last night, but then a nurse came in and chased them all away with an excuse of 'all the rest' Twilight had to get.

"There, Miss Sparkle; now you can finally rest!" The nurse stated, obviously thinking she did her a favor, and left Twilight alone in her room.

Twilight sighed, feeling a bit lonely. And bored. Not knowing what to do, she got out of the bed, and opened the window widely, letting the breeze carry the thin white curtains and refresh her tired eyes...

Next to her window stood a tall tree that didn't stood there before; it was apparently magically summoned, at least if it was to judge by it's bright colors and weird apples. On the tree branches lied Discord, in a deep sleep and barely even hanging on them, only a small movement away from falling down.

"Oh, Discord..." Twilight smiled, feeling her heart practically melting. Deciding she could return a favor at least a little, she took one pillow from her room and with a bit of magical help, summoned an extra branch that supported him much better; then she sneakily pushed a pillow underneath his head. A grateful snore escaped him.

Not really having anything else to do, Twilight simply stood there at the window, observing with a gentle smile the vile and mean Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony who spent a whole night being her guardian.


	13. Storytelling Time

"Miss Sparkle?" Doctor Stable called for the purple mare as he entered the otherwise empty room.

"Present!" Twilight cheerfully said as she got rid of her hospital gown, preparing to leave. Unbeknownst to her, Discord was awake, floating in the air by the window of her room, sunbathing and waiting for her to come out.

"...right, err, I'm sorry to inform you that the tests didn't turn out quite the way we expected; we'll have to run a few more of them." Stable informed, a bit insecure. The expression of anxiety he was wearing erased the happy smile off Twilight's face.

"Oh, so I have to stay here even longer?" She asked, now concerned. Their conversation also attracted the attention of the draconequues, who was curiously peeking into the room.

"Don't worry, it is nothing serious - we just want to make sure you're not still sick, or maybe even in worse condition than we know. Unfortunately, re-testing might take some time, and we're extremely busy - it's last a bit longer."

Twilight let out a saddened 'oh' as Doctor Stable apologized to her and left the room. Head down and her mood suddenly flopping, Twilight sat on her bed. If she at least had somepony sharing a room with her, it wouldn't be so lonely. And she had already read all the books the hospital had to offer. Some of them multiple times.

If only her friends weren't all busy on this exact day.

"Why so serious?" She perked up the moment the mischievous draconequues finally showed himself as he nonchalantly leaned his elbows on the window sill, his body hanging outside.

"Discord! I thought you were still asleep!" She said a bit giddily as she jumped off the bed and trotted over to him.

"Nah, I've been trying to gain some color with the little help of Celly's Sun - why do you think?" He extended his claw effeminately - whatever spell he used, it was now of pink color. It took Twilight a moment to realize he was talking about Celestia and she laughed.

"It sure does look like Princess Celestia's work," she notices, "it is quite gentle shade of pink. Reminds me of her mane."

Discord let out a curious sound as he observed his arm with that thought in his mind.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." With another click of his fingers it got its old color back.

"Maybe I should make it change colors in all the shades of her mane." He snickered.

"When did you first meet Princess Celestia?" Twilight randomly asked as the question popped into her head, without much purpose toit. Discord's eyes widened a bit in surprise as he didn't expect her to ask something like that, but then he playfully laughed.

"Oh, it is quite an amusing story! Wanna hear?" He asked, a bit excited.

"Do I?" Twilight questioned back with an equally excited smile, immediately jumping on the bed and making herself comfortable. Discord sat up on the sill and cleared his throat.

"Long long ago, there was a funny, charming, incredibly handsome and on top of all modest Prince named Discord." He started, his feigned modesty already making Twilight giggle.

"Now, Prince Discords' favorite thing in all world was doing whatever was opposite of normal," he continued, "which the ponies, afraid of changes and frightened by anything different, called Chaos and proclaimed it evil - they weren't all wrong, mind you; Prince Discord was often quite naughty for the purpose of having selfish fun." He admitted.

"So one day, while the Prince was turning a river into a flow of tasty, cold, watery chocolate, he noticed one pony who was drinking from the river. It was an Alicorn called Celestia, who many ponies loved and adored thanks to her continuous and quite successful effort to maintain what the citizens of Equestria cherished the most - Harmony."

"So, of course, as she took a drink from the river, Celestia was quite surprised to realize it had a taste of chocolate. That's when she saw the Prince for the first time. And then they fell in love at first sight, got married, had tons of cute little ponies and lived happily ever after!" He abruptly finished; he himself was doing his best to try and remain serious as he delivered a fake ending, while Twilight was laughing out loud.

"Oh come on, Discord!"

"Fine, fine... so anyway, the Princess saw the Prince of Chaos for the first time, but immediately knew who he was, having heard of his naughty deeds and the way he liked to pull mean pranks on everypony. What do you think the Princess said to him upon seeing him?"

"Hmm..." Twilight was lost in her thoughts for a moment or two.

"Well, knowing Celestia, she probably said something noble and refined, and she probably sounded tough and strong... something like... 'Stop there, you chaotic criminal! You shall pay for your evil doings once and for all!'"

Twilight's gentle smile as she imagined strong Princess Celestia saying those words melted into a confused grimace as Discord started to laugh.

"Not even close my dear." He snickered.

"Not even close."

* * *

><p><em>"Hey you! Yeah you, you jerk! What are doing? This is the river that runs through several cities, duh! You can't just ruin everybody's water source like that! Sheesh, what is wrong with you?" The Alicorn yelled out in frustration, flying over to the mismatched Spirit who was amused by the sight of a very flustered and quite childish approach the Alicorn made.<em>

_"Oh? What are you going to do about it anyway?" The jolly Spirit laughed, his voice young like and almost boyish. The Alicorn gritted her teeth._

_"You shouldn't be doing this! It is forbidden!"_

_"Says who?"_

_"Says me!" She snapped. "Some ponies down there want water, not your chocolate milk!"_

_"But it is so tasty." He defended and summoned a glass to grab some._

_"Here, have a sip."_

_The Alicorn hastily pushed his lion hand away._

_"I'm warning you, Prince Discord!" She added a mocking accent to his title, which slightly bemused him._

_"I have powers too, you know!"_

_"Let us test them, then." Discord replied with an evil snicker. In the next moment, the two were in air, shooting at each other with beams of light and balls of fire, trying to tackle each other constantly and unsuccessfully. It didn't take long though, before the powerful Spirit subdued the inexperienced Alicorn by spell binding her wings long enough for her to fall and even taking away her horn, which left her in a state of panic._

_"Oh. I didn't know I could do that." The Spirit chuckled, his eyes wide with surprise as he observed the panicking Alicorn._

_"M-my horn!"_

_"I do believe that is a permanent effect. Oops!" He playfully added in the end, making the Alicorn eye him dangerously._

_"You! Give my my horn back, now!"_

_"Calm down dear, calm down - don't you know of the magic words?"_

_The Alicorn gritted her teeth again, her face flushed with both anger and embarrassment._

_"Hmm. I guess your horn is mine then." He waved dismissively, as he laughed and turned around to leave. He didn't expect a strong kick of Alicorn's hooves in his back and in next moment he was tackled to the ground._

_"My horn. NOW." The Alicorn didn't give up. The Spirit chuckled underneath her strong firm hooves, but winced when she stepped on a very painful stop near his wings._

_"Oh, fine, you can have your horn back." He snickered, clicking his fingers. Above him he could her the Alicorn sigh with relief._

_"Now you shall come with me, and I'll present you to the Equestrian court - they'll be more than happy to learn of the Chaotic Princes' surrender."_

_"Surrend- bwahahahaha! My dear, dear Alicornian friend, I never surrender!" With a click of his finger and a last laugh, he disappeared, his voice echoing in the air._

_"Once you grow up and become stronger, come and find me so we can play again. Until our next meeting, Celestia!" His disembodied voice greeted._

_"H-how do you know my name?" The Alicorn demanded, but got nothing more than a cruel laughter in response. Frowning and stomping her hooves, she swore to become the most powerful Alicorn to have walked the Equestrian lands, all for purpose of putting Chaos out of lives of the ponies she loved so much._

* * *

><p>"And that's how Celestia and I met! Little did she know she was as equally loved and famous for her goodness just as I was hated and infamous for my Chaos, so naturally, I knew her name well!" Discord finished with a laugh. Twilight joined the laugh, but only shortly, being pretty fascinated by the story.<p>

"That was so interesting! I had no idea Princess Celestia was so- eh, I mean-"

"Celestia was a child too, Twilight Sparkle. She wasn't always as wise as today." The Spirit knowingly said. Twilight shrugged.

"I guess that was to be expected, but it is really funny to think about her that way!"

"Too bad I never got to know Luna too well. She was quite seclusive."

"Miss Sparkle?" They were interrupted once again by Doctor Stable; judging by his smile, he was delivering some good news.

"Tests seem to be alright. We can let you go home now."

"What? But you said it would take long time!"

"But... it's been a few hours already."

"Oh." Twilight stared at the Doctor a bit confused, then shrugged.

"Oh well, thank you!" She giddily said, before bidding Doctor goodbye. The moment he left the room, Discord took her in his hands and flew out the window, gently putting her down on the grass.

"Time really flies fast when you're having a good time." Twilight observed, noticing it was already four in the afternoon on the clock tower. For some time, they aimlessly wondered Ponyville, Twilight not feeling like going home and Discord simply making her company since he didn't think of anything better to do.

"So, you mentioned Princess Luna before. You didn't know her well?" Twilight asked, still curious about how well Discord knew the Princesses.

"Oh, no, not really. I mean, Celestia and I met many times after our first encounter and had countless fights." Discord reminisced like he was talking about some good old memory.

"It was loads of fun; well, for me at least. Your Sun Princess was a feisty, stubborn creature. Still is, in fact." He remarked.

"Luna joined her in her quest to put me 'out of business' when she was old enough and strong enough - them together against me was a bit harder to handle, so the fights turned more serious each time we clashed. Thus Luna never really got to know that teasingly charming side of me." He continued without modesty.

"Only the aggressive one. And the rest of the story..." he gave Twilight a meaningful smile, "...is history as you know it."

Twilight fell silent; feeling she might've gotten too serious as she remembered the unpleasant destiny he was given, Discord decided to let her in on a little secret.

"But you know..." He looked around as if he was going to spill a big secret, then said in low voice:

"I believe Luna thinks I'm a riot!"

"A riot?"

"Amusing! Darling! Easy to laugh with." Discord complimented himself without a pause. Twilight furrowed her brow.

"You just said she never got to know you well!"

"Ah," Discord wisely started, "but those two days I spent at their lovely palace once you all set me free were quite eventful!"

Twilight's eyes widened.

"Really? Tell me, oh please, please, please~" Twilight asked with the cutest voice she could manage. The Spirit laughed and waved his hands defensively as she approached him eagerly.

"Alright my dear, you'll hear everything don't you worry. Let's go for a fly though, I need to stretch my wings."

He didn't need to tell her twice; she immediately got on his back, and he gently flew into the bright blue sky, starting his story.

"As you may remember, back then I was pretty agitated about loss of my powers..."

* * *

><p><em>"This is breaking of ones' civil rights!"<em>

_"You're no civilian, Prince of Chaos." Celestia said calmly, feeling slightly guilty that Discord's rage brought so much amusement to her; by now he tried to destroy most of the guest room with a click of his finger, only to every time painfully realize he couldn't do that anymore. He proceeded to angrily rip the drapes on the bed and flip over the writing desk, but her reaction was nonexistent._

_"Settle down, Discord!" Celestia finally said, her command followed by a spell that forced him to sit down. With a resigning sigh, he finally relaxed and continued to fume on the luxurious white carpet._

_"Listen to me Discord. Luna and I had did our best in explaining you your situation and unless you're completely in delusion, you should understand we're doing you a big favor. It isn't exactly wise of us to free one of the greatest trouble makers in Equestria just to give him another chance, __especially since so many of its citizens are against it."_

_Discord said nothing, instead just eyeing her in pure rage. Celestia sighed._

_"I did what I could. I'll leave you alone for now. Think your situation through... please."_

_With those words, Celestia left him alone to let his frustration out on poor pieces of furniture. But he had enough of that. He wasn't usually the one to let his anger out in this way, but having no powers restrained him from calming his nerves with his favorite chocolate milk._

_Brought back with no powers? What was he supposed to do then? He might as well go live in the mountains and start a bloody rock farm. Without his powers, he was nopony. Just another civilian that happened to look like a spell gone wrong._

_His ears caught a faint sound, similar to a breeze, but when he turned around the door were closed. However, thousands of years old Disco-sense was tingling. He wasn't alone._

_"What in Tartarus do you want, Lunnie?" He finally asked, not even eyeing the Alicorn who was hidden behind the half ripped drapes. And indeed, after a moment or two of silence, Luna's magnificent starry mane came into his view._

_"It's Luna." The Princess of the Moon replied, oblivious of the joke. The Spirit snickered unwillingly and looked over to her. She stood next to him and simply stared._

_"What?"_

_Luna just kept looking at him; it irritated him greatly._

_"What?" He repeated, this time quite aggressively. But Luna didn't seem frightened. Then she finally spoke._

_"You look much different than the last time I saw you."_

_Discord raised an eyebrow._

_"Didn't you see enough of me while I was a statue?" He bitterly asked. Luna blinked._

_"That is a different matter. What I mean is, back when we defeated you, I was still much of a child."_

_Discords' eyebrow again popped up._

_"Meaning?"_

_"You were more frightening back then." Luna simply answered._

_The answer was both surprising and anger inducing. Discord stood up tall and towered over the pony in the same manner he used to use back then. Back then, she would gasp in fright, call for her sisters' spell or, if she dared, try using one of her spells._

_This time, she didn't even blink. In fact, she seemed to be wondering what was he doing._

_"Is something wrong?" She finally asked._

_Discord was silent. Then, to her surprise he smiled, albeit not entirely happily._

_"You grew up, Luna."_

_"Oh." She was a bit surprised by such a sudden change of attitude, but returned the smile kindly. Discord flew over to the window, lost in thoughts._

_"You never took me and my sister too seriously, now have you?" Luna asked as she joined him in observing of Celestia's maze garden._

_"Nah." He replied lazily, without hesitation._

_"Well, not until the day I realized getting out of the stone was not an easy feat. Once I realized I'll be trapped inside for quite some time, I decided you may represent a bit of a threat." He praised with a bitter chuckle. Luna laughed softly._

_"Well, those times are behind us now. My sister and I didn't free you because we're bored you know."_

_"Whatever do you mean by that?" Discord asked as he looked over to her. Luna let out a soft hum as she thought her words through._

_"While we didn't exactly... know you very well..." Luna started carefully, "I personally think you actually seem to be quite a fun person to have around."_

_Discord laughed loudly on Luna's words._

_"Well, this is interesting! Just how did you conclude that?" He asked, genuinely intrigued._

_"Well, for starters," Luna immediately answered, "while many of your power were obviously serving to deliver some sort of sadistic fun, I couldn't help but notice you spread even more of Chaos that wasn't nearly as dangerous - on the contrary, some ponies loved it when it lasted for a short period of time. In fact, what you did the last time you came out wasn't as Chaotic as what you used to do."_

_"What can I say, " the Spirit replied, waving his hands, "I had plenty of time to pick my favorite forms of Chaos while I was in stone; and Celestia still didn't like them." He added in the end in a tone that clearly gave away just how 'highly' he thought of Celestias' distaste for his powers._

_Luna gave away a giggle that he didn't miss._

_"What are you laughing about?" He growled, thinking she was mocking him. But with a smile, she continued:_

_"You're a funny character, Discord. If you weren't such an evil doer, you and many other ponies could probably get along."_

_Discord wasn't exactly sure if he heard her right, but her silly, confident smile said he did._

_"Do tell me, Princess Luna, do you think you and I would get along?"_

_"Of course." Luna replied without hesitation._

_"You seem like a nice guy. But then again, anypony who's stripped of their powers would behave nice, so I can not judge without having doubts. But the way you are now... you seem just darling."_

_Discords' face contorted into a grimace that clearly said he found this situation way too sentimental; Luna laughed as she noticed that and before exiting the room, said:_

_"Hopefully you'll get along with the Elements of Harmony; I hear some of them can be quite demanding."_

* * *

><p>"Demanding?" Twilight repeated, but Discord just shrugged.<p>

"I don't really know what she meant by that. Maybe Rainbow Dash's stubbornness is what she had in mind, or something like that. Who knows, who cares." He sang in the end, gripping Twilight's front hooves so she wouldn't fall and spinning through the air.

After a lengthy session of flying that left Twilight quite dizzy, the got back into the library just in time for dinner. Spike as always made dinner for himself and Twilight, while Discord ate his usual summoned portion of random food, followed, as always, by chocolate milk. Twilight allowed Spike to go to bed early, as she had a few finishing lines to write for a few of her researches. Discord spent that time magically coloring Twilight's book shelves in Rainbow colors.

"Phew, what a day!" Twilight sighed as she climbed into her bed. The Spirit had disappeared somewhere, most likely to find himself a place to sleep somewhere outside, as he tended to do. Spike was already asleep, and she knew she was going to be asleep soon, her eyes slowly closing as she made herself comfortable, the golden-red orbs dancing before her ey-

Wait.

She opened her eyes again to be met with Discord's slightly amused gaze as he floated above her. At this point, she wasn't even surprised anymore. He startled her this way countless times.

"What is it, Discord?" She asked, half entertained, and half wanting to sleep. Then she got an unexpected answer.

"I want a bedtime story." He said with a straight face. Twilight did her best not to laugh.

"You mean... like a fairy tale, or something?" She managed, finally breaking into giggles. Discord frowned.

"Ha-ha. Funny." He descended next to her on the floor and leaned onto her bed.

"No, I meant a story from your life."

"Oh!" Twilight was mildly surprised. The fact he even had any interest in such a thing as storied from her life was just...unimaginable.

"Are you serious?" She asked, making him sigh impatiently.

"Come on, I talked so much about myself today, I figured I want to know something about you!"

"Oh. Umm, OK, uh..." Twilight shifted nervously. Seeing she wasn't sure what to tell him about, Discord pointed to her flank.

"How did you get your Cutie Mark?"

"Oh, now that's a good story! You see, I was on this exam..."

Twilight continued to tell him about her Cutie Mark. And after that, about how they brought Luna back to normal after her one thousand years long banishment, as Discord naturally missed that story. Then about all the things that had happened back on the wedding of her brother ("So, how is Chrysalis these days?" he questioned) and then started with a story of how and why she moved to Ponyville. She was telling him all these stories with so much passions because he didn't seem to get bored with her talking - he'd let her talk, then asked questions if he didn't understand something, or wanted to know something extra and sometimes friendly teased her or joked about the events she told him of. It was very enjoyable to have him listen to her like that.

Alas, she started to yawn, feeling extremely sleepy once she finished her last story. The Spirit seemed equally tired as he stretched and then lay on the floor like a cat, wrapping his long tail around him and bidding Twilight good night.

"Sleep well, Twilight Sparkle."

"Good night, Discord." Twilight said gently as she leaned on her pillow and observed the Spirit as he slowly departed to Dreamland. Twilight fell asleep some time after, not even realizing she was staring at him the whole time until her consciousness slipped away into colorful, pleasant dreams that faithfully depicted the interesting stories she heard that nice, sunny day.


	14. Cat 'n the Hat

"Twilight? Twilight my dear, where have you gotten to? I have an emergency!"

Twilight heard a familiar voice, but, still being half asleep, couldn't quite pinpoint whom it belonged to. The dream was heavy on her eyes, not allowing her to open them. But a sudden shriek of pain coming from the draconequues woke her up in an instant; she jumped on her hooves in panic, took a moment to regain her composure and looked around. Discord was wailing and swirling through the air, hitting ceiling and walls with a heavy thud. His apparently painful flight finally ended once he accidentally smashed into one of the bookshelves, much to Twilight's horror.

"My books!" She shrieked as she trotted down the stairs, in process almost knocking Spike, who just like her tried to get down to see what was causing all the racket.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine! You don't have to worry about me!" Twilight heard Discord yelling sarcastically as he got out of the huge pile of books, apparently struggling with something. To her surprise, a few feet away from him stood Rarity, who apparently just got in, gasping, wincing and yelling out something incoherent.

"Help! Oh, for the love of Chaos, help!"

"Stop it, you ruffian! You'll hurt her!" Rarity ordered, but Discord kept squirming and wrestling with whomever was bothering him.

"Hurt whom?" Twilight questioned in fear, wondering what did Discord do to anger anypony. Finally, as she focused her mind on magic, she used it to separate Discord from...

"Opal?"

"Oh, my little baby!"

"I'm going to smite that little furry-!"

"Discord, no!" Twilight warned, using her magical shield to stop Discord from launching at Rarity's cat - Opal didn't seem terrified by the angry, raging Spirit as she hissed, trying to probe the shield with her short, sharp claws.

"Opal! Down darling!" Rarity merely said, her words not affecting her cats' behavior at all. Once the agitated Spirit settled down a bit and Rarty dragged her cat from him, Twilight lowered the magical they still eyed each other dangerously. Twilight finally looked over to Rarity.

"Rarity, what are you doing here anyway?" Twilight said, finally realizing it was Rarity's voice that called for her before.

"And why did you have to bring Opal?" Spike added, eyeing the ferocious cat with a careful stare.

"Well my dear, Opal is the exact reason why I came to visit you." Rarity said as she petted her beloved fuzzball. Opal was finally calm, but was still hissing at the Spirit, who returned with an angry gaze.

"Oh, Twilight, dear, glad to see you're healthy again, but I have a fashion emergency - you need to watch Opal for me! Just until the evening! I have to go out of town for a little bit!"

"What? Me? Why don't you ask Fluttershy? She's the one who's good with animals!"

"Fluttershy is coming with me! I begged her to wear a few of my designs for a fashion show just this one more time; my regular model is ill." Rarity explained, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Please, please Twilight, I don't have anypony else to ask! The only available pony aside from you is Rainbow Dash, but... well, you seem more gentle with animals." She grinned a bit sheepishly, not wanting to give Rainbow a bad reputation. Twilight pondered Rarity's plead for a few second and finally gave her a reassuring smile.

"Well, I guess there is nothing I can do but help you! Who knows, it may be fun!"

"**WHAT**?" Spike and Discord spoke in unison, now both of them angry and upset. Rarity ignored their reaction as she gratefully threw herself around Twilight's neck.

"Oh, thank you, thank you dear! I promise, I will make it up to you all. I have to run now; our carriage is about to leave. Have fun!" She cheerfully greeted before closing the doors of the library and galloping away.

"Well, looks like we have a fun day ahead of us!" Twilight grinned. Unsurprisingly, she got no smiles in return.

* * *

><p>"Twilight. I need to speak to you." Discord tried about half an hours later, as Twilight studied her books.<p>

"If it is about Opal having to leave this house, you don't." She briefly answered.

"... no, I actually do." Discord retorted.

Twilight sighed and raised her eyes from the chapter on Parasprites.

"Discord, what is wrong? Opal has been so peaceful and nice so far! Look at her, she's just resting in front of the fireplace!"

"She is watching me." Discord mumbled as if he was talking about something incredibly confidential. Twilight eyed the cat. Opal was seemingly sleeping.

"What are you talking about, she's taking a nap."

"She is not. That cat... is a calculating, cunning thing. She is not to be trusted."

At this point, Twilight was already snickering in her hoof, trying to make it quiet and hoping he wouldn't notice it. As always, she hoped in vain.

"Not funny!" The Spirit hissed into her ear.

"It's a conspiracy! That cat is on to me... I can smell it."

"Now you're being totally silly!" Twilight openly laughed.

"Opal may be a little demanding, but she is a good pet. If she causes any trouble I'll do something about it, but until then be a good Spirit of Chaos and just calm down already!" Her tone was clearly saying that was the end of discussion as she got back to her research, deciding she was going to dedicate her day to writing a few reports to Princess Celestia after she's done with it. In short, she wanted nothing to do with Discord's antics that day - she missed her books and her work.

Discord grumbled as he once more looked over at Opal - who was now staring right back at him. With a terrified gasp, he climbed the second floor and hid behind the wooden stair railing, watching the seemingly calm cat from there. Her gaze was still on him; there was some emotion in her eyes he couldn't quite place, but it wasn't anything positive.

"How can she not notice it?" Discord grumbled to himself, wondering if it was because of the gender that the mares didn't see that evil something lurking in Opal's sharp eyes.

"You can see it too, right?" He heard a quiet voice. Turning his head slightly, he saw Spike a few feet away from him, hiding behind a plant and observing Opal in the same manner. His eyes looked calm but experience, like he went through this ordeal many times before.

"That bloodthirsty stare." Spike continued, his voice unusually cold. Discord slowly nodded in response.

"We have to do something about that cat." Discord whisepered, earning a slightly stunned but serious look from Spike.

"It will be dangerous, you know. Opal is not just any cat. She is..." He never finished his thought, not exactly knowing how to express himself; but Discord seemed to understand.

"We have no choice. If we don't do something... she will." They both gave the cat a dangerous, threatening stare. Opal seemed to frown as she quietly hissed, showing all of her teeth. It attracted Twilight's attention for a couple of moments, but by the time the purple mare checked on the cat, she pretended she was asleep once again. Shrugging, Twilight returned to her research. The cat grinned evilly at the two hiding.

""I knew it." Discord managed, his eyes burning with growing determination.

"So what do we do?" Spike questioned. Discord stood up. No hiding, not anymore. Spike followed his action - their sudden change of posture made Opal tense up.

"We attack." Discord dangerously said, observing the unsuspecting mare, who was likely to be the victim of the raging war between good and evil, life and death... The Hellish forces of Opals' claws against two lone soldiers of (Dis)Harmony.

* * *

><p>Discord slithered between the vases, picture frames and other smaller things that took up space on the shelf above the fireplace. He had no idea why didn't he try transforming into other animals for so long - it was quite amusing to observe the world from this perspective. As a picture frame nearly fell on him, he remembered why - he was a quite vulnerable in such forms.<p>

"Hey Twilight," he heard Spike talking, distracting the mare's attention, "what are you up to?"

"Oh, just finishing up a few reports - I have to double check them all though, I want to make sure I didn't miss a thing." Discord turned around the large vase full of flowers. Their smell was much stronger now that he turned into a lizard.

"Oh, let me help you then!"

"Spike, you hate double checking!" The mare retorted. Discord finally reached his goal on the corner of the shelf. The white ball of fur was right below him.

"Still, I want to be of help!"

"Oh well, if you really want to, you can help me with this one..."

Discord observed Opal with his lizard eyes, at the same time making sure Twilight was busy. Finally, Spike slowly, carefully turned around and after a few seconds of searching for now quite tiny form of Discord and finding him, gave him a reassuring nod.

Taking a deep breath, Discord jumped down, straight on Opal's fur, then strongly bounced off her to the floor.

The cat jerked strongly, jumped up and turned around several times until she located the small animal that ran across the wooden floor at great speed. Her hunter instinct kicking in, she ran after it.

Twilight didn't notice anything as Spike surprisingly had many things to say about her research as well to point out the numerous mistakes she somehow managed to miss during her last grammar check. Spike's heart beat faster when Opal moved and chased Discord around the room, having her fun with him. In the next moment, using his magic, Discord opened one of the windows and swiftly crawled out, Opal following him. He sighed a breath of relief, wondering how exactly will Discord make Opal behave. If they did anything to her here in the library, Twilight would freak out.

In the next moment, the window closed and Discord climbed back in over the balcony. He gave Spike a conspiring wink, and Spike returned it.

"Spike? Are you even listening to me?"

"Eh, wha- huh?"

"Err... you know what Spike, I'm fine doing this by myself, you seem a bit out of it."

"Oh... alright." Spike left Twilight alone to correct the mistakes he inserted on purpose to go up and meet Discord.

"Where is she?" Spike asked quietly, but Discord put a finger on his own lips, producing a warning "shh!".

"She is right here." The Spirit replied with a whisper, and opened his hand. There on his palm, a tiny white cat the size of a bottle cap looked in their eyes with a murderous stare.

"Even when tiny and so vulnerable, she still manages to look so scary." Spike noticed.

"She will bother us no more. This time, there is no way she could OW!" Discord suddenly yelped, as quietly as he could, when Opal dug her tiny sharp teeth into his claw. Led by instinct, he shook his hand off and the cat flew through the air, but luckily swiftly landed on her feet, despite the length and height of the fall, right on the fence of the stairs. Both the Spirit and little dragon stared, their jaws dropped.

"How is that possible? She is way too small to hurt me and my claw is supposed to more enduring than that!" Discord hissed in anger. They were dealing with a dangerous enemy here, obviously. Discord underestimated her. Horrible mistake.

They tried to catch her but she was too small and too fast; Opal ran down the railing quickly, with speed Discord didn't predict. She was heading straight for Twilight.

"She mustn't find out!" Spike squeaked and they both launched after the cat, Discord in process turning into a small bird. Spike tried to grab the cat again, but she simply bounced off his scaly fingers. Discord in his feathery form caught her for a moment, but Opals continuous scratching and biting quickly made him let go and return to his original form. Opal made a fatal jump aiming for Twilight. If they don't do something in the next few seconds, it would be over. Twilight would know of their plan... and then they'd have to face the wrath of the librarian.

Not having a choice, Discord desperately clicked his fingers, returning Opal to her regular size. The cat was slightly surprised with the change as she fell right onto Twilight's head, drawing a surprised shout from her.

"Ah! What the...?" She looked up to see Opal. The cat gave her the most fake and adorable face she could produce. It is common knowledge that when cats want to be cute, they can be cute. Even cats like Opal. So it was no surprise Twilight have her a cute giggle.

"Awww, you must be so lonely, right Opal?" Twilight asked. The cat purred sweetly in response, making her giggle yet again. The two defeated warriors gritted their teeth.

"I'm really sorry, but I have much work to do... Spike!" Her call made Spike's blood run cold. He gulped before descending the stairs, Discord saluting him as he did.

"Yes, Twilight?" He asked, his voice on the edge of quivering.

"Would you please play with Opal a bit? She is bored and I just don't have the time!"

Spike gulped heavily as Twilight gave Opal to him. Taking her reluctantly in his hands, watching her sweet expression turning into a grin of pure malice.

"Sure."

"Thank you, you're such a sweetheart." Twilight smiled to him before going back to her research.

Spike nearly cried as he put Opal down on the carpet and sat next to her. The cat suddenly scratched his arm harshly, his dragon scales for whatever Hellish reason not protecting him entirely from the pain.

"There, kitty kitty..." Spike tried to pet her; in return, Opal launch at him and tackled him to the floor, standing on him and hissing into his face as her claws painfully clutched the more sensitive skin on his bell

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Twilight, who thanks to Opal's quickly fixed 'cute' face got the wrong impression they were playing, commented briefly, giving Spike a grateful look.

Spike never wanted to cry so badly.

Discord decided it was time to get serious. Still with the lack of his powers, he couldn't do anything like simply change her personality upside down. Hm, maybe he could try? Sneakily, he approached the cat and in a swift motion put a talon finger on top of cat's head. He was surprised to feel the magical energy running through his fingers as he managed to cast a powerful spell with no difficulty - however, he felt a need for a few... 'magical words'.

"_Soft kitty, warm kitty,  
>little ball of fur~<br>happy kitty, sleepy kitty,  
>purr, purr, purr~<em>"

Opal's complete body color turned from white to soft pink and she suddenly stopped hissing, nuzzling against Spike instead and licking his face affectionately.

"Wow, how...?" Spike wondered. Discord shrugged, not being entirely sure how did he manage to do that. Maybe Celestia was a bit more generous with her gift when she gave him his powers back. Then he realized he made Opal nice, so...

"I guess Celestia only allowed me to make things fine and dandy." He mumbled, though more to himself. Spike wasn't paying much attention, as he now actually had a pleasant time with Opal as they ran up to the bedroom to play; even Dicord joined him, summoning a few funny looking pet toys. The afternoon was spent in a comfortable atmosphere thanks to that.

About the time Spike decided to make dinner, Twilight was done with her research. Unfortunately for Discord, both him and Spike forgot about Opal and her color change once they stopped playing and have left the cat alone to wander around; the purple mare wasn't the one to miss obvious details. With a distinctive cough, she called for both of them to come down to the library.

"What happened to Opal?" She asked, dead serious, with a strict look on her face. Discord and Spike exchanged the blaming looks before Discord managed:

"Oh! I just changed her color, is all." He stuttered out, a bit insecure. Judging by Twilight's look on her face, she wasn't buying that excuse.

"Spike, go and prepare us dinner." She coldly said. The small dragon immediately disappeared.

"Opal hates being scratched on the tummy." Twilight finally said, as she did just that. Discord mumbled something incoherent.

"Sorry?"

"Maybe she dropped into a can of paint." He tried, drawing the words out and speaking slowly. Like a small filly that broke a vase.

"She doesn't smell like paint."

"She might've gotten embarrassed and blushed!" He decided, giving her a playful smile that didn't seem to be taken well.

"That is impossible."

"... I don't know then."

"Don't lie to me, Discord!" Twilight warned a bit loudly. Discord shrugged.

"What do you want from me, I have no i-"

"Do I need to ask Spike about it, then?" Twilight finally used her strongest weapon. There was no way Spike would lie to her, both of them knew that well. Discord stared at her before finally muttering:

"Blast it."

"So, what have you done?"

The draconequues dragged over to her and placed a finger on Opal, returning her the old fur color and her natural aggressive state. Opal swiftly escaped from Twilight and placed herself on the couch, practicing her claws on it on purpose.

"I just gave her a little change in attitude is all." He finally admitted. Twilight gasped and Discord imediatelly started to justify his actions.

"She was so hard to deal with!"

"Well that is not how one deals with problems, Discord." Twilight sternly said. Discord crossed his arms, saying nothing.

"You can't deal with problems by magically making them disappear."

"Apparently I can!" Discord noticed with a smirk. "Truth to be told, I didn't even know I was given that spell! Celestia was truly generous. It seems almost like she has fallen for me. Ah, me and my beautiful, beautiful face."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason." Twilight replied sarcastically, trying her best to hide the fact she panicked slightly - he seemed to be discovering more and more of his powers. Not good.

"I don't want you to do this kind of thing anymore, Discord."

"Why not? It makes lives easier!"

"You did the same to me and my friends in the labyrinth." Twilight reminded. Discord was petrified for a moment, before replying:

"This- This is different! I turned her nice! She was cuddly, and a delight to play with!"

"So, if I were for whatever reason in a bad mood, you'd go as far as to magic me into feeling all fine and dandy?" Twilight finally asked. Discord was looking for the right words.

"...oh." Was all he finally had to say, realizing what she wanted him to know. Twilight victoriously smirked.

"That's what I thought. So, no more pony-changing magic?" She offered a hoof to seal the deal. Reluctantly, he accepted it.

"Fine."

"That's a good draconequues!" Twilight said proudly as she patted his paw, which he pulled away from her swiftly.

"Stop patronizing me, it is positively horrifying!" Discord shuddered, making the unicorn laugh.

"I don't know, I think it is quite fun!" She giggled before the smell of freshly cooked hay fries called for her from the kitchen. Still a bit agitated that another fun thing has been taken away from him, Discord followed her. As they were having dinner, they finally heard a knock on the door both Spike and Discord eagerly waited for.

"Hello my darlings!" Rarity loudly greeted as she trotted in, wearing a warm, fancy purple coat and slightly over the top, but otherwise nice hat. Fluttershy was behind her, still in her clothes she wore on the fashion show - an adorable coat in pink color, and even cuter winter cap.

Spike rushed over to greet her enthusiastically, offering to take Fluttershy's coat too, which Rarity delightfully accepted, while Fluttershy shyly said there was no need. Twilight trotted over to Rarity as she brought Opal to her side, affectionately nuzzling her. Opal wasn't too pleased.

"Welcome back, Rarity, Fluttershy! How was the fashion show?"

"Oh it was simply marvelous!" Rarity started, the excitement still sparkling in her blue eyes. "You should've seen Fluttershy, everypony were gasping as she ever so shyly and humbly walked down that podium!"

"It was... um, well, it was nice this time." Fluttershy quietly said, a meek smile on her face. Rarity interjected:

"I made sure nopony bothered her after we were done with the show, so she could socialize and mingle without being pestered. Seriously, those paparazzi can be so annoying sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad to see you both had a good time despite your differences." Twilight confirmed, at the same time glancing knowingly at Discord; he threw his arms into the air and just mumbled something.

"Oh, right - I have something for you all!" Rarity happily said, magically bringing one of her traveling bags to her.

"I say, Canterlot seems more beautiful every time I visit, really - they have the most interesting things in their shops, so I couldn't resist but to find you all a little something!" She explained as she dug through suitcase.

"Oh Rarity, that's so nice of you, thanks!" Twilight replied as she watched her digging through her luggage - judging by Rarity's excitement, she most likely brought them clothes.

But to her surprise, the first thing that flew from Rarity's bag to Twilight was...

"A book?" Twilight gasped, looking at the royally red book with golden trim in surprise.

"Why, yes; we all know well just how much you love books, so what else would be a better present, is what I thought!" Rarity smiled and then, somewhat sheepishly, went on to explain the book that was titled 'The Gown of your Dreams comes from the Trees'.

"You see, they are all awfully indulged in fashion there, so I couldn't really bring you any book that you haven't already most likely read or that wasn't on different types of seams and stitches; but I think you'll like this one! It is quite an interesting look on how exactly the fabric is made. My, when I went through it, even I was surprised by some of the things - to think such wonderful, elegant fabric comes from something so wild and untamed." Rarity added in the end. Twilight opened the book randomly; judging from her growing smile, Rarity choose a good book.

"Hey, this does look interesting! I've been looking for something light to read before sleep. Thank you, Rarity!" Twilight sincerely replied. Rarity let out a relieved breath as her friend seem to be satisfied with the book.

"Spikey-Wikey~," Rarity called playfully "time for your present now!" she continued with a sweet giggle. Spike blushed almost instantly.

"M-me? Aww, shucks, Rarity, y-you didn't have to, yanno..."

"Nonsense! I would never forget my sweet little dragon!" With those words, Rarity once more went through her luggage. In the next moment, she handed Spike a big, heart shaped gem, much like the one he once gave her once before, only this one was of radiant green color. It was heavy in Spike's hands.

"An... an emerald!" Spike stated in disbelief. "And... wow, this one is so well kept! This must cost a fortune!"

Rarity laughed softly.

"Nothing is too much for my friend! And this one is all yours. It was really hard to find it, all the shops have nothing but those silly little gems they use for necklaces! Really, somepony ought to open a gem business over there." She commented. Spike barely listenend to her as he practically allowed himself to drool from gluttony in front of his crush. Twilight nudged him to wake him up from his shock; he shook his head.

"Wow, Rarity, I- Thank you, thank you so much!" He eagerly rushed over to give her a hug, which she gladly allowed. Somewhere in the behind them, Discord pretended to throw up.

"Now, don't think I forgot about you!" Rarity suddenly said to him. Discord looked around to see who was she talking to, until he realized all of the eyes were upon him.

"Me?" He asked in disbelief, his face contorting. Rarity rolled her eyes. Even Twilight seemed surprised a bit, but then again, who was she kidding? Element of Generosity in action!

"Alright now, we may not know each other well, but who am I to deny a shopping spree fever." Rarity replied jokingly.

"Seriously though, I couldn't leave you out - after all, you are our friend!"

Twilight suppressed a giggle as Discord twitched upon hearing those words, even thought she wasn't sure why he did so; but he remained silent and waited for whatever unneeded thing she was going to give him.

"You are quite a demanding soul though - having been able to summon yourself whatever you wish, in the end I had no idea what should I give you." Rarity admitted, seeming a bit embarrassed by her unsuccessful search for a present he couldn't summon himself.

"So, I just went with my lady instinct; something told me you would like something like this - but nothing special, really." With those words she pulled out a hat. But not just any hat. It was a top hat. (dun-dun-DUUUN) It was of wonderful, bright red color and had a silk, golden ribbon tied around it. It was way taller than it should be, but it was probably so it would go better along with Discord's elongated body and head.

"I've made it a bit bigger, so it would suit you better." Rarity couldn't help but to try and justify the reason for it's size. Twilight frowned.

"Wait... you made it?"

"Well of course! Hats of that measurements are hardly sold anywhere, Twilight - so I bought the materials I deemed perfect for him, and made it." Rarity said sweetly.

Discord took the hat in his hands, his face expressionless. Rarity bit her lip.

"It is OK if you don't like it! I mean, I'd understand, since you can make one yourself... I just- I just thought, you know, that it would be nice if you had a piece of fancy clothing, just in case an occasion pops up! And it, err... it matches your eyes." She tried, smiling a bit awkwardly. It was quite a surprise she remembered his eye color. A surprising fact Spike wasn't very fond of.

Discord sighed a he carefully studied his present.

"This hat..." He slowly started. Then he put it on his head and deadly serious, finally said:

"This is the best hat ever."

"Oh!" Rarity let out a shaky, but relieved laugh, a crimson color covering her cheeks, showing just how happy she was. Twilight on the other hand, laughed loudly, both Discord's deadly serious face and Rarity's insecurity amusing her. Spike just crossed his arms.

"Well, I best be on my way! We have friends to visit! Later, darlings!" Taking Opal and Fluttershy with her, Rarity swiftly left the library, barely giving Spike the time to say 'bye'. Silence ensued as Discord checked himself out in a mirror he summoned.

"This hat is positively stunning!" Discord stated again, tilting the hat.

"I am indeed pleasantly surprised. She doesn't seem like the type to give thoughtful gifts."

Twilight offered a smile of approval.

"Well, you just haven't met her well enough, then. I'm glad you like it. Rarity was pretty happy she choose well."

Discord shrugged, the smile never leaving his face.

"Meh. I suppose."

"Oh come on! You could easily summon yourself one!" Spike finally couldn't contain himself anymore, earning a stern look from Twilight. Well, truth to be told, she didn't say anything because she was afraid of what Discord might say, or possibility of him deciding hat isn't worthy of praise.

"Spike!" She warned, but Spike didn't seem too keen on taking his words back. Then Discord chuckled.

"My dear dragon boy, you fail to see the importance of what just happened."

"Oh?" Spike asked. Twilight too, looked at him curiously

"Clearly," Discord cleared his throat, "dear Rarity was fond of me enough to give me a hat in colors she knows I would both like and will suit me. And a top hat is obviously her try to get me one step closer to what is known as 'courtesy' - because as we all know, top hats are one true sign of a proper Sir - and they are also awesome. Rarity probably knew how much I love 'awesome'. I appreciate both her efforts and kindness greatly."

Twilight was positively glowing as Discord analyzed Rarity's gift, while Spike seemed uncomfortable.

"Discord..." She whispered. Then an amused grin decorated his face.

"To conclude, Miss Rarity obviously likes me~~" He sing sang, drawing a loud 'what?' from Spike and a confused 'huh?' from Twilight. Discord danced around, summoning a few little birds and making flowers grow from under his feet. Twilight facehoofed. This little joke would make Spike hate him forever.

"No way! Rarity would never-!" Spike stared, only to be interrupted by Discord's singing as he started waltzing around the room, grabbing Twilight in the progress to spin her around. She let out a delighted squeak.

"_She glanced this way, I thought I saw  
>and when we touched she didn't shutter at my paw~<br>No it can't be, I'll just ignore,  
>but then she's never looked at me that way before~<em>"

Twilight couldn't help but laugh as the Spirit span her around the library though - she practically bent over in his hands laughing her guts out, yet he kept on dancing around, much to irritation of small dragon.

"Stop it! That'll so never happen! Twilight, say something!"

The Spirit stopped to look at her as she answered. He gave her a meaningful look. About a month ago, when she didn't know Discord like she did now, Twilight would have no idea what he wanted. But she knew now; she was supposed to play along with the joke.

"I'm sure you two are going to make a wonderful couple." That line was the last straw for both of them as they started laughing and finally, Spike realized they were just pranking him. He let out a sigh of relief.

"You two are horrible." He said through a shaky chuckle.

"If anyone should make a couple, it should be you two, you are both horrible, evil pranksters."

"You insult me, dragon boy - Twilight Sparkle here has a long way before she becomes as evil of a prankster as I am."

"I think I prefer with my current title of 'egghead', thank you very much." Twilight retorted.

"Boring~~" He replied, as expected. For a moment, they all fell silent, looking back on the interesting day they had.

"...so, should I ask her out on a date?"

"Discord!"

The draconequues and the unicorn snickered.


	15. Lost, Found, Discovered

**This is one of those more serious chapters. Hope you enjoy anyway.**

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><p>Twilight woke up to a cloud covered sky and the sounds of rain. The air was stale and humid, the whole day altogether seemed like a perfect day to spend doing absolutely nothing but mope around and wait for such ugly weather to pass. But Twilight would have none of that! After she refreshed herself and lit the fire in the fire place to chase away the humid air, she woke Spike up and asked him to fix them breakfast before she finally went to search for Discord. A few minutes later, she decided he left somewhere, but she had no idea where or why. Frowning, she went into the kitchen.<p>

"Spike, have you seen Discord?"

"Not since last night." Spike replied an answer she expected. Twilight shrugged it off, wondering where could he be. But, the Sun was still in place, plants were still whole, animals normal and houses weren't turned upside down. He probably wasn't doing anything troublesome.

"Oh well. He'll be back sooner or later." She dug into her crusty sandwich filled with sunflower seeds. Her and Spike talked about what they should do today - the weather was so nasty they didn't really want to go and play outside and Twilight was done with her research.

In the end, they decided to visit the movie theater. Putting on their rain coats, they went to see a newest sensation of a movie called the Hay Games. It was, needless to point out, one of the best movies that came out recently. Much better than the Dusk Saga, anyway.

After that they spent most of the afternoon in the cafe of the theater, eating popcorn, drinking hot chocolate from the dispenser and watching rain fall. It was a nice afternoon, definitely.

Yet, something was missing. She needed something amusing or fun, she couldn't quite pinpoint it. Something that usually made any experience only slightly more... colorful.

It took her several long minutes to figure out it was somepony she missed, not something.

"I wonder where Discord is." She finally spoke her thoughts. Spike waved his hand.

"Oh, he's probably at home already and wondering where you are."

"Yeah, I guess so. Speaking of which, it is getting late. Let's go back, we can tell him about the movie!"

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><p>"He... he is not here."<p>

Twilight and Spike got back to the library to be met with the same emptiness they left behind them. Twilight was only slightly shocked. Truth to be told, she was sure that Discord, once he would realize he was home alone, would transform her library into an amusement park or something. For the first time, seeing her regular library was an ugly sight.

"Where could he be? It is past dinner time."

"... Twilight, we could go and ask around somepony if they saw him."

"... No. No, it's OK. He's probably just.. adventuring or something... Leave it be. He'll probably be back in the morning."

Discord wasn't back the next morning. The morning after that either. It was definitely time to conclude Discord wasn't just out and about.

Twilight and Spike had spent most of the day questioning everypony in the whole city if they had seen him. Finally they found a clue; the last time he was seen was by the young Post Haste. He claimed he saw the Spirit flying to the direction of the Everfree forest one early morning a few days ago. Naturally, upon hearing that,Twilight instantly started packing.

"A-are you alright?" Spike asked her. Twilight was in her room and packing only the most necessary supplies frantically.

"No, Spike. No I am not." She sincerely said, her voice quivering. Spike wasn't sure if she cried, but she sure seemed like she was about to.

"Shouldn't you ask the others to help you?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever - I don't have time to inform them. Discord could be in great danger right now and I can't afford to wait for anypony. You inform anypony you want, I am leaving."

"B-but Twilight! Twilight!" Spike called for the mare, even though she was already outside, galloping to the East. She was well out of his voice range and he knew she couldn't hear him. At some point she almost tripped and fell, only to frantically continue running without a second thought. Spike watched as she disappeared behind a corner, wondered what should he do. Twilight was powerful, she could probably take on several dangerous creatures in that forest by herself. But still, it didn't quite calm him down.

With a heavy sigh, he skipped out to find Pinkie Pie. If anyone could spread news fast enough, it was her.

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><p>Twilight felt no regrets when she stepped into the dark forest alone, feeling chills climbing up her spine, but bravely ignoring them as she moved forward. If her friends were going to come, fine - but she sure as heck didn't have time to organize a rescue party. Discord could already be... she shook her head on the dark thought and proceeded.<p>

The path under her hooves was quickly lost once she reached a certain point, so she was happy she brought her compass - even if she got utterly lost, or was for whatever reason incapable of casting her transporting spell, she always just had to head west and she would eventually reach Ponyville with ease.

The forest was darker the further she went, the trees forming a thick shield of leaves that Sun barely shined through, offering Twilight little to no light. Soon, she had to ignite her own spell to light the nonexistent path.

At some point, she decided to look at the compass. With a quite big amount of horror, she noticed it wasn't still; the needle kept turning and turning, never pointing North. Twilight gulped. She had no idea what caused the compass' unusual behavior until that very word got stuck in her mind. Unusual. Chaotic? Resemblance was close enough. Twilight decided Discord must be somewhere nearby. Her hopeful mind didn't have any space for doubt.

Minutes passed. One hour, more. Twilight soon lost the track of time. She kept looking at her compass - at one point it actually pointed North, upon which she trotted back until it started acting weird again. By now, she was absolutely sure it was Disord's magic that caused this. Which meant, he was capable of casting magic. That was good. But why wasn't he returning home then?

The area his magic had affected must've been big, because it took her quite some time before she found a first clue - a few blue feathers. Blue as the sky. Blue as Discord's angelic wing. Twilight gulped, starting to walk a bit faster. Her hooves echoes eerily in the huge, quiet, deserted forest.

Then before her, an unusual and quite unsettling scene. A tree, scratched and torn in so many ways, as if somepony tried to get something out of its core. A few broken and fallen branches. Twilight shuddered, afraid to even think what might've happened. She took a look at the compass. It's needle was spinning wildly, faster than ever.

Silently she kept walking, observing the numerous traces of destruction, following its path, until she finally rounded a large, thick bush...

Discord was lying, sprawled on the ground. His slowly raising and falling chest gave her a clear proof he was still alive, but he was in such a position he looked as if he were attacked. He looked so tired, worn out... old, even. His filly-ish smile replaced with a painful grimace, his sparkly golden eyes closed into a small, tense frown, his breathing short and shallow. Even his slim, long body seemed unnaturally thinner than usual and his wings, instead of being folded, laid open in the dirty ground.

Without a breath, Twilight approached the Spirit, carefully, glancing around. No living being seemed to be around.

"D-Discord?" She called with a whisper, but knew she would only get silence in response. Taking comfort in the fact he was still breathing, she checked him out. He didn't seem to be hurt, not anything serious at least, no blood, no scars... until she rounded him and got a good look of his neck; then she got positively sick.

Two very recognizable bite marks, slightly smudged by dark, red spots. Twilight gritted her teeth. Apparently, a few deserter Changelings liked their new home in the Everfree forest. Twilight would have to inform her brother of this; the Royal Guards were probably ignorant of the fact a Changeling, maybe even more than one, resided here.

Twilight knew that Changelings fed of their victims this way; once they bit their victim, they would release a spell into their body that would provide them with constant flow of the 'food', given that their victims felt any love for anypony at all, until they would break it off once the victim became too weak – they wouldn't destroy their own food supplies. But Discord might've been here for two days already, just lying and being used as a food container.

Around Discord lied traces of his magic - simple examples of food and several empty glasses, some of them still containing a bit of... of pure milk? Discord would never summon himself just milk!

Unless... he wasn't capable of doing more. Thanks to those nasty changelings, he was probably weaker than ever.

Twilight whimpered, feeling her eyes tearing up. She slowly lowered her horn to his wound, concentrated, then cast a spell.

Slowly, as if she was pulling out something heavy, green smoke-like substance started to rise out of his wound, dispersing the moment it touched the air. The curse. Being encouraged by the unexpected success of her spell, she continued.

After a few moments, it was all gone and Twilight successfully closed the wound.

The expression of Discord's face noticeably changed to a more relaxed one, but he still wasn't waking up. Twilight bit her lip. Suddenly, something rustled in the bushes. Two brilliantly blue eyes stared at her from the darkness. In the next moment, they closed. Everything was dark for a few more moments, when before her came the exact replica of herself. Even thought her double was wearing a cocky, confident smile, Twilight felt no fear. Instead, she felt rage.

"You must not remember me kicking your kind's flank back in Canterlot." She said darkly. Changeling was looking at her in confusion before recalling the mare that ruined their queen's perfect plan; then it let out a frightened yelp, gaining its original form back and swiftly disappeared in the dark forest. She didn't chase him - Shining Armor would take care of that once she informed him.

With another spark of a spell, Twilight managed to transport them both to the edge of the Everfree, just in time to see her friends getting out from it - it appeared they were all going in group and searched one section of the forest by one, not wanting to risk separating or getting lost. With a surprise, she noticed the sky has grown dark - just how long has she been in that cursed forest?

"Twilight! You found him?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she approached her and the sleeping draconequues on the ground.

"Yeah... h-he was b-bit by a Ch-Changeling..." She stuttered, the worry overwhelming her. Spike, who was there with them, looked at her with concern in his eyes - Twilight's mane was messy, eyes wide and scared, her hooves slightly trembling.

"A Changeling? They are in the forest?" Fluttershy gasped. Twilight nodded her head.

"Yeah, but I don't think there are many... in fact I only saw one and it escaped as soon as I gave it a mean look." She chuckled emptily. "They are probably just lost or something..."

"Come along, sugar-cube - let us get ya home."

Applejack quickly brought one of the carriages so they could carry the Spirit back to the library. Once there, Twilight put Discord in her own bed. He wasn't showing signs of waking up.

Fluttershy and Applejack occupied the kitchen, Fluttershy preparing some strong tea and Applejack cooking something she called 'the tastiest of all yucky medicines'.

Pinkie Pie was seemingly, along with Twilight, feeling worst of them all - she constantly looked over to the Spirit, expecting to see him moving, doing something, anything really. It was strange seeing him just lying there.

"Twilight? Is Discord going to be alright?" She finally asked, her voice not nearly as happy as usually. Twilight gave her a sad smile.

"Of course he will be, Pinkie - he is just worn out. The Changeling's feeding process can harm somepony in the long run and Discord seems to have been the, err... food provider, for two days constantly. After he gets a good rest, he'll be just fine, trust me."

Her words of comfort brought a smile, albeit still worried smile on Pinkie's face.

"Okie-dokie then." Her 'okie-dokie' never sounded so unenthusiastic.

It was the middle of the night. Twilight was sleeping – well, trying to, actually - in Spike's basket - Spike generously offered her his sleeping spot and didn't want to hear her refusing, being convinced he was doing her a favor by giving away his comfy but a bit small sleeping spot for her, seeing how tired and worn out she was and how desperately she wanted to be next to Discord all the time. The basket was a bit too small for her, but with some struggle she managed to find a comfy position. Spike, on the other hand, decided to sleep on flour bags in the kitchen. He became really fond of those.

But despite making herself comfortable, Twilight couldn't sleep. It was very early morning, her eyes were stinging and she wanted to sleep desperately, despite initially deciding to stay up all night; she was just so tired.

Finally, somehow, she managed to drift off into a nap.

Twilight stood in a wide, grassy green field. Above her was wide, huge sky with fluffy white cloudy herds chasing each other and, for some reason, there was no Sun, despite it being a bright day. Breeze was blowing. Surrounding her, wherever she looked was nothing but many hills with equally green, lush grass. Nothing else. Just her, green grass, blue sky and white clouds.

Without a goal, she started to walk, looking around. Despite the desolation, she had a feeling like she was looking at something magnificent, like she was in a the world of something she always craved. Be it the incredible limitless sky or hills that seemed to have no end, or the clouds that almost looked alive... wait... some of those clouds WERE alive.

They were jumping one another... were those sheep! OK, this is definitely the last time she'll allow herself to miss dinner due to stressful situation. Strange dreams were definitely not going to bring her any rest.

And then among all those sheep, she noticed a distinctive shade of red. A tail, hanging off a cloud that just so happened not to be a sheep. It must've been Discords! Too bad it was just a dream.

Then the tail disappeared and a head showed up. Discord seemed to be looking for something - or better said, somepony; the moment he noticed Twilight, he descended towards her.

The he pulled on her mane, and she yelped.

"Ow! What gives?" She rubbed her neck, a bit annoyed.

"Just had to show you I was real and not a segment of your dreams by producing some pain." Discord said with a teasing smile. Twilight immediately stopped frowning, wide happy smile spreading over her face. Deciding not to restrain herself at least this one time, she leaped toward him and held him into a bone crushing hug. While his face was clearly displeased, he patted her head with a resigning sigh and a tired smile.

"You must've been awfully bored without me." Discord noticed, chuckling. However, he was unpleasantly surprised when he noticed tears in her eyes once she finally let go of him. He lowered to her eye level and observed her with worry.

"What's wrong?" The Spirit asked - it was weird how genuinely confused he was by her tears. Seriously, wasn't it obvious?

"What do you mean 'what's wrong?'" Twilight sniffed loudly, her tears once again wetting his fur as she hugged him. By now, he reached a certain level of discomfort, but figured he should let her cry her eyes out in peace - this one time, he would allow the tears in his dreams. It took her quite a few minutes though before she finally sat down.

"Better?" He asked playfully. His casual approach to her quite negative mood earned him a strong, sharp poke in the nose. "I'll take that as a yes." He snickered.

"Just what were you doing in Everfree anyway?" Twilight questioned, her voice still trembling slightly. Discord shrugged.

"I was bored." He replied simply. Twilight deadpanned, then kicked him, this time strongly, in the flank.

"Ow! What was that for? You really ought to take some anger management classes."

"I was worried about you, you jerk!" Twilight angrily started. "Don't you ever, EVER sneak off like that to dangerous places without telling me!"

Discord laughed loudly, to her surprise.

"Yes, mother." He teased, making her pout. "Oh fine, fine. Though I must admit, I was surprised to discover there were Changelings here. And that little one surprised me quite a lot - little sneaks are way too fast."

"They usually don't reside here - some of them must've deserted their Queen." Twilight said, her explanation making the Spirit laugh.

"I am not surprised; Chrysalis wasn't exactly the kind of leader anypony would want - nothing like me, really."

Twilight giggled, much to Discord's delight.

"Much better!" He clapped his mismatched hands. "I can't wait to finally wake up – I was quite bored being with just myself for so long in my mind."

"I think you'll be fine by noon. I'll have fresh water and food prepared for you. But both your powers and your body have been severely weakened thank to the Changeling's feeding, so you probably won't stay awake for long."

Discord groaned something incoherent, but Twilight managed to catch the word 'bothersome' among his grumblings.

"I know, I know - I've seen what they can do, remember?" She frowned.

After a couple of moments of silence, Discord abruptly suggested they go for a flight, so they did; he was strangely quiet during it, but Twilight was no different - many thoughts and memories ran through her head, the most frequent one being her diary and those blasted, impossible-to-be-true words she wrote down so long ago...

They flew among the cloudy sheep and chased them around until the world slowly started to disperse and before any of them realized it, Twilight had left her little dreamland and woke up.

"Oh." She quietly let out, getting up from the small basket. The clock tower showed noon. With an anticipating smirk, Twilight turned around toward her bed, to see the Spirit curled up among the warm sheets on her bed, looking at her with pretty tired, but otherwise, delighted smile.

"Welcome back." Twilight whispered quietly. Discord just nodded before grabbing both the water and the food that stood on her nightstand and hungrily devoured them, smacking his lips.

"I still feel so tired..." Discord mumbled, his eyes closing as he did. Twilight approached the bed.

"You'll probably have to spend a few days in bed, Discord. After all, being a food container of a Changeling for two days could mean severe health damage to regular ponies. You're holding up pretty good."

She descended into the kitchen to get him some more water, but when she came back, Discord was asleep again, quietly snoring. Now that he was safe and sound, back in her home and his good old teasing self, Twilight could finally think properly about all the things she felt that day, all the crazy thoughts that ran through her head and all the fights her stupid, stupid heart lead with her brain.

When she first wrote those words in her diary, it was easy to dismiss them - they were obviously written on a whim and she barely ever recalled them. But... what now?

That blasted draconequues was simply becoming too good to be true. Of course, it was her goal, teaching him of Harmony, becoming his friend; but feeling something that was possibly something more than a friendship? It just didn't felt right! Or did it? She couldn't solve that one either.

Discord shifted before her, his small smile a proof of him having some pleasant dream. There it was again. That small, completely insignificant and dream induced smile was one of the things she loved about him. Was it because they simply bonded so greatly? Was it because she liked to see him happy? Were both of those assumptions leasing to something greater?

"You truly are the Lord of Chaos, Discord. I hope you're proud." Twilight told the sleeping Spirit, a bit annoyed, yet with a small, worried smile. Yesterday, as she searched the Everfree for her chaotic friend, she constantly tried to imagine her life without the troublesome Spirit she came to respect and cherish so greatly, the life that resembled those two short days he was gone. Living was easy without him before, yet it was so painful to imagine life with the emptiness he would have left behind.

In conclusion, even if she were to come to realize she felt something more, Twilight knew it wouldn't matter - as long as the Spirit was safe and as long as he kept offering her his friendship, Twilight knew she would be happy.


	16. Lesson Generosity

Discord didn't get better until the morning after - by then he was physically alright, but almost every time he tried to cast a powerful spell that demanded an actual effort, he would get a strong headache. Twilight calmed him down, saying it was quite normal and that it would take some time before he could cast the stronger spells painlessly. The news seemed to brought him down until he discovered he could still summon chocolate milk without painful consequences - if anything, his favorite drink was still an easy click of fingers away.

Twilight, on the other hand, kept being confused by the sudden development of her feelings that she still couldn't quite place for sure; the best she could do was indulge in any kind of work she could find, just to stop thinking about it; it was so distracting. Whenever she recalled it she would feel her heart skip a beat. It almost felt like some kind of worry or concern, tugging on her chest, rather than a pleasant feeling. So much about crushes - if that was what a crush was about, she'd be better off without one!

And not to mention the sudden playfulness of the Spirit - as he once again couldn't cast his pranking spells without it feeling unpleasant, he constantly hanged around her, wanting to do something. Twilight told him to go and ask somepony else, since she was so busy with her research that wasn't really for anypony - she started it merely so she would have something to do; but Discord would have none of that.

"But I haven't done anything with you in such a long time!" The Spirit complained as he swirled through the air. "First you were sick and then I happened to run into that little abomination in the forest - I am so bored~"

"This research is very important Discord, I can't spend anymore time just prancing around and-"

"A research on the clothing fabrics? Isn't that what Rarity's book is about? You have a book about it, you don't need a research!"

"I just thought I might add something I discovered on my own to the book." Twilight defended as she flipped a paper. However, Discord snatched the papers off her desk.

"Hey, give it back!"

"No can do!" Discord playfully said as he pulled Spike's tale, much to his surprise - he let out flame that engulfed the unfinished research before it disappeared to Canterlot Castle. Twilight deadpanned.

"Why thank you, Discord."

"Anytime." He replied with an evil smirk as he put one of his arms around her shoulders. "Now come on; entertain me!"

Twilight did her best to keep her face straight and her blood out of her cheeks as she felt his arm laying over her shoulders. She shook her head.

"Didn't you notice just how often you claim you're bored and then demand from me to entertain you?"

Discord blinked. "That is what you're here for, aren't you?" He joked.

Twilight deadpanned. "Go to Tartarus, Discord."

"How rude!" Discord feigned being insulted. "Fine then; I shall seek the entertainment elsewhere. It is obvious you're not in the quite good mood today." With those words, he left the agitated unicorn alone in the library, wondering what cause her to act so mean. Stretching his long body and feeling every crack of his old but eternally strong bones, he wondered what should he do today.

It didn't take him long before he started doing what he loved the most - pranking anypony that came into his sight. Be it putting fake snakes in their bags, sticking a note with mocking messages on their flanks or simply turning their food into rubber, he spent some time coming up with new things; that was until his antics brought him in front of the elementary school. He very rarely passed nearby; Twilight had told him he should not interrupt the young minds at work, because they learn the best while they are small - it sounded almost like she thought Discord had nothing valuable to teach! She really was bold, that mare.

Discord decided today was the day when he would not listen to that nonsense and sneakily approached one of the opened windows, peeking in. Inside, the pony he came to know as Cheerilee was seemingly scolding one of her students in the gentlest way possible. In fact, the small, chubby pony had gone back to his seat with a small smile. She must be good in her profession.

He saw her lips moving and her smile growing but he couldn't hear well what she was saying. Deciding he was hiding for long enough and surprisingly curious about what a class in school looked like, he wanted to transport inside - then again, while it wasn't a strong spell, the short travel would probably bring back the painful headache. While he wasn't against a little pain, he knew it would last for hours and he was in way too good mood to spoil that to himself. The risk was too great.

So he came in the classic way. Through the window.

Diamon Tiara happened to be the first to notice the huge draconequues slithering in and she screamed like her life depended on it. The rest of the class jerked strongly and one or two more fillies reacted the same way, but other than that, nopony seemed alarmed; just confused by his sudden entrance. Cheerilee seemed to be extremely surprised, but she managed a smile, slight concern reflecting in her eyes.

"Oh, good day Mr Discord!" She said, with the tone that clearly ordered the class to greet him. Most of them did so, with exception of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who just stared at him with what seemed to be loathing.

"Good day children." Discord politely greeted back, then addressed Cheerilee, bowing slightly as he did.

"You wouldn't mind if I observe your skillful teaching from the back of the class, would you Miss Cheerilee?"

The politeness he used to ask that and at least seemingly innocent motives made Cheerilee decide that wasn't really such a bad idea. It might in fact help the fillies connect to him better. She looked over to her class.

"What do you say, children? Should we show Mr Discord here what do we do in school?" The answer came in form of cheering. Ever since that day on the snow, most of the children quickly got attached to Discord's image of a crazy, but fun uncle. Still, he was pleasantly surprised to see so many small ponies watching him with a glint of happiness in their eyes.

"Very well then - as long as you don't disrupt the class, you may stay. In fact, we're about to have Arts class, so if you wish you can participate. It is quite fun!"

"Why, thank you." Discord got up to his full height and his head hit the ceiling. His small "ow" was followed by a roar of laughter. Only one of Cheerilee's stern looks was enough for class to fall silent, but a snickering was still audible.

"Do forgive them, they are still so young - they need to learn not to laugh at other pony's misfortune." She raised her voice a bit to make the lesson clear.

"It is quite alright. I know I'd laugh too if I saw it happening." His words encouraged the ponies for another round of laughter. His height still bothered him though and he definitely wanted to avoid injuries in this small room, so he decided for one spell - hopefully, it wouldn't bring on the headache. With a click of fingers, he suddenly turned into a small, child-like version of himself, only slightly taller than an average filly. His eyes and whole face were rounder, his arms and legs a bit stubbier and his childish grin adorable. Despite his mismatching looks, he actually looked cute. His transformation was followed by many "ooh's" and "aww's".

"Much better." He spoke, his voice just as child like. His head pounded for a couple of seconds and then it was gone. Once he settled himself in the back in one of the empty benches, still rubbing his head, Cheerilee continued her lesson.

"Alright, I hope you all brought everything needed for today's art class - the winter is nearing and with it the cold weather. So today, we'll be trying to make something out of the materials you brought - hats!"

"Hats?" Silver Spoon repeated, appalled. Diamond Tiara followed her reaction with an undoubtedly snotty comment.

"What do I need to make a hat for? I have a wardrobe of hats. A wardrobe. Besides, I don't wear hats. I wear tiaras. Duh."

"Now, now Diamond Tiara, you mustn't think like that!" Cheerilee warned. "Sometimes, having skills you don't momentarily need can come in handy later in life. Now everypony, gather around the 'teamwork desk'!"

Tiara didn't say anything, instead letting out an annoyed sigh as everypony gathered around a big, round table - Cheerilee was calling it the teamwork desk because they used to do Arts classes that way sometimes - gathering various supplies they brought on one place and using a bit of anything they needed, helping each other in process. Naturally, not everypony always followed the concept of working in group.

Discord was swiftly invited by the Crusaders to join them, so he placed himself in between a small orange Pegasus whose name he vaguely recalled as Scootaroo, or something like that and a white Unicorn whose name he didn't remember. It was something nice and cute, but he didn't remember much else. He did recognize Apple Bloom though - her distinct accent and tomato red mane was hard to forget.

"Maybe making hats is out special talent." Apple Bloom tried, but Scootaloo arched an eyebrow.

"If my special talent is making hats, then I might as well stay a blank flank." She deadpanned. Her comment drew a wise laughter from filly-Discord. Well, as wise as it could sound with his now childish voice.

"Oh, Scootaroo-"

"It's Scootaloo."

"Right, pardon. Oh Scootaloo, you underestimate the power of a good hat. Just a few days ago, I got the most magnificent top hat as a present."

"But we're not making fancy hats," Sweetie Belle started to explain, "we're making winter caps and such. You see?" She pointed her hoof at the big pile of colorful materials on the teamwork desk. "We have to connect some of this materials and make caps. Then, we can gift them to someone."

"Gift them? Why would you want to do that?" Discord questioned. "I'd rather make one for myself."

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.

"Because it's nice and kind? Because the one you'll give it to will be happy? Because other pony's happiness is just as important to us as our own happiness?" She tried to explain. Discord frowned for a moment and suddenly gasped.

"Wait, I remember now - you're Rarity's little sister!"

"Sweetie Belle, in case you forgot." She smiled. "And yes, I am."

"That explains everything." Discord snickered, but didn't say anything else - of course the sister of Element of Generosity would speak that way. Ignoring her words, he followed other fillies' example and searched through the pile of cloths and materials for something he might use. He couldn't find anything he liked and it frustrated him. Then he came across a very pretty piece and took it in his hand. It was a thick, warm and soft material of midnight night blue color. The color of night. It reminded him of a certain Unicorn who loved starry nights.

Then, we can gift them to someone. Sweetie Belle's voice echoed once more in his mind. He imagined giving Twilight the winter cap he himself created. A cute smile upon her face, the delighted spark in her eyes, the grateful hug she'd probably give him and her voice, stuttering, filled with surprise, thanking him... the scene in his head was adorable.

"What are you smiling so widely about?" Scootaloo asked suspiciously. "It is not something romantic, is it?"

It took him a moment to realize he had such a big smile on his face, the corners of his mouth hurt. He did his best to make it go away, but with little to no success.

"Nothing. This just seems fun. Let's make some caps, then!"

Him and crusaders eagerly got busy - Discord swiftly picked a few other materials he knew would come in handy. Sweetie Belle, being a sister of a fashionista, was expected to have some experience with making clothing, but she was as clumsy as anyone else. With her magic, she carefully tried to sew two pieces together and wasn't doing such a bad job after all. Scootaloo tried using the special cloth glue, but she put way too much of it - it ended up looking like a pile of discarded stickers. Apple Bloom took the task of helping Discord with his creation.

On the other side of the table though, the atmosphere was a bit more frustrated - all thanks to the snobby duo of ponies.

"This is so boring." Diamond Tiara spitefully said, watching carefully that her words do not reach Cheerilee, who was grading some tests on her desk. "I could be at my home right now, preparing an awesome party or checking out the jewelry shop."

"I know, right?" Silver Spoon replied automatically, but with barely any enthusiasm - she, in fact, seemed to be interested in creating something, but as always went along with her friend's statements.

Discord smirked. "She's bored, eh? I could fix that."

Apple Bloom looked over at him, then at Diamond Tiara. As much as she wanted to see her pranked, she knew Cheerilee wouldn't be happy with that.

"Don't do anything silly, Discord. Miss Cheerilee will punish us."

"Don't worry, I got it all planned out."

Beneath the table, Discord cast his magic. Just as Diamond Tiara threw one of the piece of cloths back to the pile, it returned to her much like a boomerang and slapped her right across her face, stuck over her left eye - and it remained there. Not noticing the strange behavior of the cloth, Tiara tried to remove it; only to realize, with a quite big amount of terror visible in her right eye, that is was glued to her.

"What the hay?" She shrieked, attracting Cheerilee's attention.

"Tiara! Watch that potty mouth of yours!"

"Miss Cheerilee, somepony put glue on this and stuck it on my eye!"

"You did it yourself." Scootaloo deadpanned. "Don't blame your clumsiness on others, sheesh." Her remark drew a soft laugh from everypony as they observed Tiara; she did her best to try and take of the piece of clothing that made her look like a pirate, even though Silver Spoon tried to tell her it wasn't a good idea.

"Shut up! UGH, if I could just-" She pulled a bit stronger on the piece of cloth and it finally came of - taking her eyelashes with it, as well as a few strand of her mane. Tiara screamed and her cheeks flushed when everypony laughed.

"Stop it, all of you! Diamond Tiara, it is no emergency. Your eyelashes will grow back."

"Well how long will it take?" She replied hysterically, as if her life were on the line. Cheerilee sighed.

"I don't know, I-"

"About two months, if you're lucky." Discord offered, a teasing grin on his face. Diamond Tiara looked at him, shocked, then suddenly frowned.

"YOU! It was you, wasn't it! You did this to me!" She yelled, pointing her hoof at him.

Everypony blinked, glancing from Tiara to Discord and back.

"I didn't do anything!" Discord lied immediately, the most innocent expression on his face.

Everypony, except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon it would seem, saw that something strange DID happen before. The fillies knew better than to lie - Apple Bloom especially, her sister being the very Element of Honesty. However, they couldn't help but indulge in this one moment where Diamond Tiara got what she deserved, for a change; besides, nobody wanted to be a tattletale. So the went along with what the Spirit had said and looked with feigned confusion at Tiara. Scootaloo especially enjoyed the moment.

"Now now, Diamond Tiara, accidents happen." Cheerilee assured her. "We can do nothing about it now - and as Discord said, it will grow back. Calm down and continue your work, alright?"

On verge of furious tears, Diamond Tiara fell silent as everypony got back to their little crafting.

"That was mean." Apple Bloom said silently, though she didn't entirely mean it, as he had enjoyed this little show. Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"She got what she deserved this once. Besides, this is Discord we're talking about, remember? Let's not give him bad reputation since he's doing so well." She finished with a mischievous smile, bumping Discord friendly on the shoulder.

"Why, you're a very smart filly, Scootaloo." Discord noticed as he got back to making the cap.

The rest of the class passed relatively calmly, with Discord, aside from the cap he made, making two hoof puppets to entertain the fillies - it was more of a success than he'd expected. Diamond Tiara, though, was doing nothing but glaring at him, but Discord didn't seem to notice it. Finally, the school bell rang.

"OK my little ponies, that would be all for today!" Cheerilee announced. "I'll see you tomorrow - don't forget your essays about the Winter Wrap-up!"

The fillies rushed out of the school, happily stretching their hooves in the school yard. Discord, who found the Crusaders to be quite a delightful little bunch, followed them outside as they participated in an excited chat about the caps they made.

"Mine is not really somethin'." Apple Bloom remarked, looking at the hat she tried to make out of straw - it was a bit clumsy, but it was the right size and firm. Discord took it from her and put it on his head.

"Hmm, I think it's quite good. It protects nicely from the sun."

"Ya think so? Really?"

"Hats are serious business, my dear. I would not joke about them."

"Yeah, right," Sweetie Belle interjected, "so, what are you going to do with the cap you made, Discord?

"I dunno." He replied a bit incoherently. "I'll see."

"Fair enough." Scootaloo quickly said, changing the subject - she didn't want to talk about the failure of a hat she made. It fell apart the moment she picked it up. "We're going to the Cutie Mark Crusaders Club! Wanna come?"

Discored pondered over his answer, as his eyes fell upon the winter cap he made. "...maybe some other day - I have something to do."

"Oh, alright. See ya then, Discord!"

"Hopefully you come to school again!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Don't annoy Twilight too much!" Applebloom ended jokingly, before the three fillies made their way to the apple farm.

Discord slowly flew up and toward the library, messing with the cap in his hands. It was of that midnight blue color, with strikes of dark violet and clumsily made white stars. It wasn't his best work, but he tried his best without magic. Summoning one would be too easy, as Sweetie Belle had said. Besides, he had to admit, making one was pretty fun.

He soon entered the library, still lost in thoughts when Twilight's voice reached him, startling him.

"Discord? Is that you? You're so tiny and- just- wow!" The unicorn exclaimed, looking at him with a spark in her eyes. Her bad mood seemed to be gone, thankfully.

"Huh?" Hiding the cap behind his back, Discord realized he never brought himself back to his normal size. "Oh. I was in the school on one of Miss Cheerilee's classes." He explained. "So I thought this would be fitting. Hold on, I'll repair it-"

"No, no!" Twilight stopped his hand from clicking. "Stay this way for a while, please~" She pleaded sweetly. Discord raised an eyebrow.

"What? Why?" He asked in disbelief.

"You're so cute!"

Discord practically snarled at her genuine smile. If there was one thing he didn't want to be, it was cute. Cute was for ponies, not for the Lords of Chaos. Not for draconequues' that wielded powerful magic. Seriously, for such an amazing being, he participated in way too many cute things. He didn't want to even become one.

"More the reason for me to change back!" He replied angrily.

"Oh, come on! Just a few more minutes, OK?"

Discord sighed, looking annoyed, but he finally gave in to her cute face.

"Fine, just so you stop bothering me."

Twilight nodded, looking at him delightfully. "So, you were at school? Did you learn anything?" Twilight laughed when Discord gave her an unsatisfied look. "I'm just kidding. So what did you do?" She asked as she finally looked away from him and rearranged some of the books on the shelf.

Discord shrugged. "I came just in time for Arts class."

"Oh, that's nice - I bet you had a fun time then." Twilight mumbled, her head lost somewhere inside of the shelf as she seemingly searched for a lost book.

"It was rather enjoyable, I have to admit." For whatever reason, he found it hard to give her the stupid cap, but he wasn't the type to give up. Finally though, he took a deep breath, needing it for whatever reason and tapped her on the back.

"I have something for you." His silly childish voice was definitely not what he needed at that moment and he fully regretted staying in that form. Twilight turned to him, a few specks of dust in her mane and surprise in her eyes.

"For me?" She repeated, not sure if she heard well. With a sigh, Discord slowly offered her the winter cap.

"We were making winter caps." He explained, doing his best to avoid her gaze. For whatever reason, gifting was bloody hard! He wouldn't even do it if he knew it was going to be so embarrassing. "So I made you one, I suppose."

Twilight took the cap with her hoof, seemingly studying it. Discord found himself worried about whether she's going to like it or not. Of course she'll like it! Was what he told himself before, but now... Ugh, he regretted ever doing this.

But then he was suddenly drawn into a bone crushing hug and his snout ended up in her mane. He instantly wanted to struggle out of it, but... it was... strange. Good, but strange. He was never hugged by anyone bigger then himself, so he never quite felt just how comfortable a hug could be. It felt so warm and soft and welcoming. He felt like he could just sink into her hooves forever.

...He hated himself for noticing it, but her mane carried a faint scent of fresh, new parchment and some flowery odour that mostly likely came from a shampoo or soap.

"Oh, thank you Discord! I love it!" Twilight finally spoke, breaking the silence that embarrassed him so much.

"Y-you do?" He asked, hardly believing her words, his voice muffled by her hair.

Twilight stood away from him and he saw everything he hoped he would see in her face and more; it made him much, much more happier than he expected. She was obviously excited about it as she studied its patterns.

"Of course I do! It is of my favorite colors! And it has stars on it - it looks just like the night sky! Why..." she paused, before looking at him again, "If I didn't know better, I'd say Rarity had made it, its colors are even similar to my dress! Only she would never make something sporty and practical like this. Thank you, Discord." She thanked him again, trying it out. It fit perfectly well on her head. Not to mention she looked adorable.

Discord couldn't take it anymore. In two clicks of his fingers, he regained his original size and then transported, disappearing without a trace. Twilight looked around, expecting to see him nearby, but he obviously went out.

"I guess his migraines passed!" She concluded cheerfully, carefully taking off her new cap and taking it to her closet.

At the same time, Discord was hiding in the top of the tree library was in, his head pounding like he had been hit by a huge hammer, dying of embarrassment and praying to whatever divine entities that she didn't notice just how much her words meant to him.


	17. Huh

The changes in season started getting more obvious with each passing day in Ponyville. After that one weird, snowy day, the temperatures and weather were back to normal, but autumn was passing swiftly, turning incredibly quickly from dry and incredibly colorful to humid, gray season when the rains would last for days. Fillies were studying hard for their exams, farms and gardens did their best to grow their food properly in time for winter, the weather ponies tried to keep the rain falling in order, to preserve the crops - the whole Ponyville was in full working force.

No citizen of Ponyville seemed to notice the sudden change much though, which surprised a certain Spirit. He watched in surprise as Twilight came home with Spike with large supplies of food and wood, then proceeded outside to Fluttershy's, Twilight mentioning something about help she offered with 'homes' and 'critters'.

"Just where is everypony rushing?" Discord question as the library door closed. Spike glanced at him shortly as he proceeded into the kitchen.

"What do you mean? Nopony is rushing anywhere."

Discord blinked.

"You're all so busy with whatever. Twilight Sparkle here spent the whole morning outside and now left me alone again! She knows well how easily bored I can get."

Spike raised an eyebrow before playfully replying: "What is she, your babysitter or something?"

Discord frowned as he watched the small dragon skillfully slicing many apples on the kitchen counter.

"It wouldn't be a problem if anypony else weren't busy as well, is what I meant."

"Seriously, what are you talking about? It's the same day as any other."

"I'm talking about a week, even more."

Spike blinked, by now totally lost. Merely shrugging, not knowing what else to say, he put the sliced apples into a big pot, added sugar and water and started cooking it - then proceeded to slice some more. Discord observed his actions carefully.

"Is there some kind of event coming up?" The Spirit asked.

"Huh?" Spike looked at him briefly before continuing his job. "Um, no, not any that I know of. Why?"

"What are you preparing all that food for?"

Spike finally realized what he was getting at. "Oh, this? I'm making fruit preserves. Jam, marmalade, fruit butter - the choice is quite big."

"Fruit preserves? What is that?"

Spike gave him yet another confused blink before laughing lightly.

"Oh yeah, seriously, how WOULD you know that? Well, since the winter is coming, we won't be able to harvest our food, the chickens won't be as active and cows won't give as much milk. So, we make food preserves out of whatever we can to keep us fed during the winter."

"...HUH." Discord sounded like he just discovered Mare-ica. "That is... quite an interesting system. So, how do you preserve them. Some kind of spell?"

"Oh, no no, it is all in cooking. You can preserve it in all kinds of ways. Drying, vacuum packing, pickling, sugaring, canning - the list is long."

"...HUH." Discord again sounded surprised, making the short dragon laugh again.

"Well, um... I'll leave you to your fascinating work then; I am going to find someplace or somepony to kill boredom with."

"Alright - see ya at the dinner!"

Discord flew out swiftly into the slightly chilly air. The sky was white and dull, Ponyville seemingly gray with no Sun to reach it. He wanted more than anything to reach up and chase them away with a clock of his fingers, but knew Twilight Sparkle would protest against it - after all, they clouds were being prepared for a rainy night. Putting aside the question of why would he even take Twilight's protests in consideration, he flew on, watching the ponies that were suddenly so busy - yet, nopony but him noticed it.

He couldn't even try to stop anypony for a prank - they were all rushing, bringing food or water, transporting hay or wood, carrying small animals or pulling carts. What a strange phenomena! He had to question it immediately!

Discord swiftly descended to Sugar Cube Corner. It was apparently empty, except for one of it's pink residents and seemingly closed until later in the afternoon. With a quick spell, he found himself inside, observing Pinkie Pie as she carried a few large, heavy flour bags on her back. Her posture significantly improved when Discord picked them up, ridding her of heavy load. Her blue eyes glanced at him and a delighted smile decorated her face.

"Oh, hiya Dissy! What are you doing here?"

"I am bored!" Discord exclaimed, like it explained everything. He glanced at the bags he was holding. "Need a hand with these?"

"Oh, that is so nice of you; well, since you're offering, I need to take about twenty more bags of flour to the basement!" Pinkie gestured to neat, big pile of heavy, brown, firmly sealed packages, her voice as cheerful as her face expression despite the hard job awaiting her.

"Oh dear, that is a second of work for me." Discord smiled, clicking his fingers. The bags suddenly came to life and started literally waltzing to the basement, on the astonishment of Pinkie Pie. She laughed when the Spirit joined the weird dance and started humming a waltzer tune until all of the bags neatly arranged themselves in the basement.

"Wee~ that was so awesome! Thank you Dissy! Hey, hey, you want some snacks? Since you so awesomely took care of those, you just allowed me to take a break!" She smiled widely, already making her way to the kitchen.

"What a question, dear Pinkie Pie." It was all Discord said, yet it was enough for Pinkie. She disappeared in the kitchen for a moment and swiftly came back with several cupcakes and a bowl of weird, tiny... somethings he never saw before. Taking a few in his hand and inspecting them, he felt they were slightly sticky and dry, with a strong, sugary scent. They tasted familiar, but much sweeter and chewing them was very similar to chewing gum.

"What are these?" He questioned. Pinkie laughed, letting out a snort as she did and looking at him with a bit of disbelief.

"Those are raisins! Have you never seen raisins?"

"I've never even heard of them." He admitted, snickering. " I must say, these look so weird. Weirder than some of the things I create. Do they grow in the bushes?"

"No, silly; they grow on vines! Sheesh, even you ought to know where grapes come from!"

"...these used to be grapes?"

Pinkie Pie laughed once more, this time even louder - but not in any mocking kind of way. She just seemed amused by his confusion.

"Of course!" She simply confirmed, before she herself put a large portion of dried fruits in her mouth.

"...Huh." Discord commented, before taking some more. They tasted so great! He wondered if that's what he was tasting in her cupcakes sometimes.

He realized there was a strange number of things he didn't know about Ponyvillian ways. And for some reason, those things he didn't know were connected with this weird, working atmosphere he found himself in.

I need to find out more about this unusual occurrence.

Figuring Pinkie Pie might know something, he asked:

"Say, Pinkie Pie, my dear, what is everypony up to these days?"

As he expected, Pinkie Pie frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Letting out an exaspareted sigh, Discord waved his lion hand. "Never mind," he said "I didn't expect you'd notice. Nopony did, for whatever reason."

"Oh, I get what you mean." Pinkie smiled once again before she strated to ramble: "Like, that feeling you have when you're the only pony who knows something is going on, or something is about to happen, yet nopony else seem to have noticed anything; I know because I had that same feeling when parasprites came, because I was like, 'get me some instruments!' and everypony else was like, 'Pinkie, stop joking around, help us with parasprites' and I was like 'well duh, silly, I am!', and then the parasprites were gone and Celestia left and that's how I got my Cutie Mark!"

"... Wait, what?"

"Well, that's all the time I have for a break! I have to get cookin'! See ya later, Discord!" Pinkie Pie bounced off to the kitchen, leaving the confused Spirit alone. Spending another minute trying to figure out the quirky nature of Pinkie Pie, Discord finally shrugged before flying out. It had started raining, though very weakly. It felt good, in fact.

As he flew up to try and get the better feeling of the tiny, refreshingly cold rain on his skin, he saw a rainbow colored blur in the distance. Almost automatically, he waved at Rainbow Dash and almost immediately after scolded him for doing so. He was getting way too friendly.

But much to his delight (he wanted to think it was 'much to his chagrin', but lying to himself so obviously was pretty much silly), the blue Pegasus noticed him and flew towards him. Rainbow Dash didn't slow down at all before flying straight into his arms and crashing against his chest, making him swirl backwards several dozen times in the air before finally gaining back his balance - luckily, seconds before she did, he noticed her intention in just enough time to make her impact a rather fun, painless experience by going along with her actions. Rainbow Dash smugly smiled as they separated and she flew around him.

"Hiya, Disc." She greeted. The draconequues returned her smile.

"Hiya, Crash." He mocked, but more in a good-natured, 'buddy' kind of way. Rainbow was seemingly used to him being like that, since she didn't take offense to it.

"What'cha doing here in the sky? Don't tell me you were thinking about messing with the clouds?" She asked cunningly. Discord feigned innocent personality as he said:

"Why Rainbow Dash, how could you ever think something like that? It is not like I'm prone to doing these things."

Rainbow Dash laughed.

"I'm sure you're not." She looked around and flew up to the small herd of clouds, carefully picking a spot and then kicking it out of existence.

"So, what are YOU busy doing?" Discord asked, wondering what could the role of Pegasi in this mysterious working mess be.

"Oh, I'm, kind of, rearranging." Rainbow shrugged. "It is desirable for the rain to fall everywhere equally, so technically I'm in charge of making sure that no flood occurs. Plus, and this is more important, I have no make sure no crops get too much water, sine rain was falling heavily only yesterday. Man, Applejack would be furious if I allowed 'too much water in the bark of her trees'." She mimicked Applejack's accent as she quoted her, though quite clumsily.

"...Huh." Discord mumbled to himself. He had no idea the weather ponies had such a task on their hooves.

"Hey, wanna help? The first one to finish their side of the sky wins." Dash challenged. Needless to say, the Spirit accepted and soon the two were kicking and moving clouds and their pieces around, which resembled a big jigsaw when one thought about it.

Rainbow Dash though had a great time watching the Spirit struggle with doing what he was supposed to do. She was done with her area long ago and simply observed as the Spirit finally gave up from one cloud and ripped it apart in frustration.

"Not exactly your special talent, now is it?" Dash teased.

"Well, Chaos being my true special talent, I can't quite exactly 'rearrange clouds' the way I should." The Spirit justified. "Now that I think of it, it sound like quite a boring activity. I'll leave you to deal with this unpleasant job."

Rainbow Dash snorted. "I know that I am one not bored. Enjoy yourself, Discord." Rainbow Dash gave him a short wave before moving on to fix what he had done. With a small frown and a smile, the Spirit flew further away. As he flew ver the Sweet Apple Acres, he spotted Applejack somewhere deep down, bucking trees furiously along with her older brother and younger sister - even Granny Smith seemed to be busy as she separated the good apples from bad ones.

Even they were busy! He couldn't afford to bother them; if he learned anything about Apple family through all this time he spent living in Ponyville, it was they were not fond of slacking off.

After a few more minutes of aimless and unsuccessful search for things to do, he recognized Fluttershy's hut beneath him and landed on its roof. It didn't take him long before he noticed both Fluttershy and Twilight among the bushes nearby, talking and seemingly building something.

"Thank you for helping me Twilight; making homes for my little critters to stay over the winter can take up a lot of time sometimes. And you're getting really good at it, too!"

"Sorry for slowing you down, Fluttershy." The unicorn said, slightly embarrassed. "I'm doing my best here."

"Oh, not at all; with your help, I'll actually be done by the sunset; even if you are not as skilled as I am, you're a great help - um, that I mean to say I'm perfect at it; I-I mean, uh-"

"Fluttershy, calm down. "Twilight smiled at her friend. "I know I am not as skilled as you - it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Remember how I was frightened to show my talent with magic when I needed to? You shouldn't be embarrassed to admit what you're good at either. So don't be too modest on yourself, missy." She ended jokingly. Fluttershy gave her a meek, but honest smile.

"Thank you, Twilight." She simply replied as the two continued working.

"...Huh." Discord never realized Fluttershy had such a great task on her back. Making homes for animals that were weaker than her, maybe not even as resourceful as her despite the vicinity of nature, didn't have the warmth of firmly built homes and fireplaces.

Spending a few more moments observing the two ponies, Discord suddenly realized it was getting darker with every passing minute. The Sun was setting earlier each day and he only now noticed it. Feeling chilly, he flew back to the library quickly and soon found himself in front of the warm, still lit fireplace.

The whole house smelled of sweet, tasty cooked apples and other fruits, as well as honey. Spike was asleep on the kitchen counter, probably feeling tired because of all the work - the mention counter, as well as the kitchen table, were literally covered with dozens and dozens of jars and cans, neatly packed and sealed away from the effects of air. Discord snapped his fingers and in a moment, Spike was levitated to his basket, letting out a grateful, sleepy groan as he felt its softness and automatically grabbing his blanket, still dreaming.

It as a bit late when Twilight finally got home and found a slightly unusual sight. Discord was in front of the fireplace and judging by the look on his face, as well as the fact he neither heard her saying 'hello' nor saw her passing in front of him, he was heavily in thought.

"Discord?" She called again - as she nudged him with her hoof, he finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.

"Oh, hello there Twilight Sparkle. How was your day?"

"It was nice." She simply said as she shrugged. "I helped Fluttershy build some of the homes for her animals."

"Speaking of that," Discord started, hoping at least that the smartest pony in whole of Ponyville would be able to answer, "what is everypony so busy with today?"

The confused look in her eyes said it all. Discord simply added, "Never mind," as he once again turned towards the fireplace. He heard her hoof steps as she climbed the stairs to go to bed, in process wishing him good night.

Discord mumbled a 'good night' in return before he kept pondering over this busy day.

Spike was making fruit preserves. Pinkie was using his preserves and packing huge amounts of flower into the dry safety of her basement. Rainbow Dash was carefully rearranging clouds so the crops wouldn't fail. Applejack and her family were collecting all the apples one last time before the winter furiously. Twilight got bunched of the supplies for their home and together with Fluttershy was making shelters for small animals.

Preparations for the winter. Who knew preparations for the winter were such an unnoticed event? Were ponies simply too used to it to notice? Were they way too busy to even notice the other ponies working hard? Was it simply unspoken of?

Was it just one big, common habit?

Discord couldn't quite tell why was it the way it is, but he had learned something today. Something he couldn't quite name, but was obviously involving all of the citizens of this little town. Something everypony was an important part of. It impressed him quite a lot, to see all those ponies working hard to assure the safe winter for each other, to ensure there will always be extra food, extra shelter, extra warmth for anypony who might have failed finding it for whatever reason.

Work may not be such a bad thing after all, the Spirit concluded before his eyes slowly closed and he drifted of into sleep.

Somewhere outside, as the rain was getting stronger, Derpy was playfully jumping in the puddles, not minding the wet mane that got into her eyes as long as her hooves stayed dry under the protection of her galoshes.

"Oh dear, what are you doing here in the rain?"

Derpy turned around to see a white unicorn with a fancy mane, wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella, who had a slightly strict, even uncomfortable look on her face. She recognized her as Rarity, one of the Element bearers.

"I'm just jumping in puddles, is all! It's so much fun! You should try it!"

"Oh no darling, but thank you for the offer - don't catch a cold, alright? Uh, here," Rarity took off her raincoat and placed it neatly on Derpy, "just a little measure of caution for your health."

"Thank you, thank you," The Pegasus sing-alonged, "so where are you going?"

"Oh, I just got some more materials for raincoats. Have to make them as soon as possible. Wouldn't want anypony else to get wet, now would we?" She smiled.

"Ooh, you're busy too, right? Have to prepare well during the autumn!"

"... pardon, dear?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Thank you for the raincoat!"

"Always the pleasure. You'll have to excuse me, but I have to go; must starting working on these you know."

"Sure thing, Rarity! See you!"

Derpy had to wonder why did they never name the event during which they are preparing for winter. Wouldn't it be awesome to have Autumn Wrap-up, or something like that? She shrugged and continued dancing around on the puddles.


	18. Different kinds of Shy

"Spike~! Spike, have you been touching my books?"

"Can't say I have, Twilight. Maybe Discord knows something about it."

"I know more about the growth of your scales than about Twilight's books."

"Urgh!" Twilight angrily hit her hoof against the wooden floor. "They're all in the wrong places! Just look at this mess! How did 'Party Tricks' end up in the fairy tale section?"

"Maybe somepony visited the library during the working hours and simply put it in the wrong place by accident."

Twilight grumbled something about correct places and inconsiderate ponies.

"Discord, from now on your task is to punish anypony who misplaces a book!"

"While that sounds like an unbelievably amusing and fun job offer, dear Twilight Sparkle, I'm afraid I have better things to do than watching out for that."

"URGH!" Twilight angrily stomped up the stairs to her bed.

"Good grief, can't she ever admit she misplaced a book?" Spike muttered as he got to work to return the books to their corresponding sections.

Numerous thuds and rumbles. A sound of something, much like somepony's leg, bumping into the wooden shelf and a silent curse.

"Chaotic fiddlesticks, that hurt!"

Twilight suddenly woke up, still dazed and half sleeping, her dream interrupted by sounds that came from down stairs and angry whispering. For several minutes, she was just sitting, trying to concentrate and keeping her eyes open, staring into the darkness as she tried to connect the familiar voice from moments ago with the right person. Once she cleared her head, she recalled it as Discord's voice. The faint light of the fireplace was visible from downstairs.

Slowly, slowly she got up and sneaked to the railing of the stairs. Discord seemed to have really took a liking to the spot in front of fireplace, for he was once more in front of it, bent in front of something he held in his hands she couldn't see.

In the next moment, she noticed there were at least dozen of HER books around him. A part of her wanted to scream, seeing as she really, really didn't like when ponies touched her perfectly ordered books without her knowledge - not to mention, it was obviously him who had messed up her perfect order!

The other, bigger part of her was genuinely confused at what was he had been reading so intensely. And in the middle of the night. And why there were so many books.

"What are you doing?" She asked once she found herself at the bottom of the stairs. The Spirit jumped so abruptly he scared her as well. He stared at her in horror, like he had been caught doing something terrible. The very next moment, he pointed his talon at her and she fell asleep from his spell.

It took Discord a second to realize how stupid that was.

"Oh, curses!" He whispered to himself in a panicky voice. He got up and circled her, not sure what should he do - she had already seen him! Should he leave her here? Should he put the books away, should he just run away for-bloody-ever and never come back!

"I never should've done this to her!"

As if some magical force heard that, Twilight started to wake up for reasons unknown to him; it only panicked him more and he cast the sleeping spell once more. In the next moment he angrily pulled at his ears after he realized he had done it again.

Biting his lip, he first put the books in what he took extra care to remember was the right place. Then he gently touched her forehead and she woke up, a bit confused. It didn't take her long to realize what he had done; TWICE.

"Discord! What are you doing? Why in the world did you put me to sleep?" Twilight demanded to know, visibly angry. The Spirit didn't have trouble spewing out the first lie he could think of:

"Oh Twilight dear, you were sleepwalking again. Such a troublesome young Unicorn you are, really."

Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"I never sleepwalk. Well, not anymore anyway, but that is not the problem right now! Discord, just what in the hay did you do that fo-" Twilight fell silent when she noticed all but one book had disappeared. It was laying half in the darkness, seemingly missed by the panicky Spirit. Twilight glanced at him to see him glancing at her.

It was obvious he didn't want her to know what book it is.

It was obvious she was ready to do anything to find out what book it is.

They both launched at it, ending up wrestling to try and reach the book before the other one did. Why neither of them used their magic to levitate the book remained a mystery.

Finally, with a tip of his talon, Discord reached out for the book and stabbed its cover with a triumphant "ha!". But Twilight, being well known for treating her books the way she would treat a newborn baby, screeched and gained super-pony strength upon seeing her book being hurt; she managed to tear out of the lion grasp he had over her and jumped forward, landing straight on his eagle arm as he let out an unexpected 'squee'.

"Gotcha!" Twilight victoriously exclaimed as she tried to observe the book - however, an audible click later, the book became invisible.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Twilight cried out, feeling the invisible book under her hoof.

Discord let out a huge breath of relief before he managed:

"You... shall not... READ."

Twilight gritted her teeth.

"Why not! What are you hiding, Discord?"

"It's 'grown up' material for a good night." Discord suddenly said, giving her the most devilish and even suggestive of smiles.

Twilight blushed ferociously at his stupid lie - even though it was a lie, it was extremely embarrassing to hear.

"C-cut the silliness, Discord!" She stuttered angrily, with a hint of shyness in her voice. Discord enjoyed her priceless facial expression - the warm light of the fireplace was still to weak to surpass the redness that covered her face. "As your guardian, I am supposed to make sure you don't s-scheme or whatever!" Discord suddenly snatched the book from under Twilight's hoof.

"My guardian~" Discord repeated after her with a significant accent, prolonging the 'n' as he flipped the pages of the still invisible book; then he abruptly closed it and gave her a very weird look, that silly smile still on his face.

"Is that all you are to me, Twilight Sparkle?" He teased, his eyes reflecting the feigned hurt. Twilight shook her head, trying to hide the blush.

"Enough! I am serious, Discord! Enough of these- embarrassing jokes, or whatever! Give me the book!"

"But I am very serious!" The Spirit complained, dramatically lowering his voice to a quivering whisper. Twilight deadpanned, staring him at him, not at all amused with his romantic act.

"Ha-ha, Discord. You know what, fine. Read the book all you want, silly. I'll find out about it sooner or later." She said as she turned around, ready to go back to sleep.

"Ha. Knew that would work." The Spirit mumbled, as he turned towards fireplace; but not quietly enough.

"Knew what would work?" Twilight questioned, once again facing him. Discord shrugged, the teasing smile still lingering on his face. He didn't even look at her as he spoke:

"Oh, my dear, dear Twilight Sparkle; your eternal inability to talk about your natural interest in male population of the world is something that will always entertain me - even when it is in a joking manner." He added in the end, chuckling.

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked a bit arrogantly.

Discord laughed almost like nothing in the world was more dear to him than to answer that question.

"What I mean is, you're shy to no end when it comes to love; even speaking of it as about a movie or a book would get you shy."

"W-what? Hay no! Where did you draw such a silly conclusion from?" Twilight replied through a hollow chuckle, doing her best to stay in the shadows so the Spirit wouldn't notice her expression of discomfort - she had had enough of his teasing as it is.

"Well then, how about we prove it?"

"Oh please, how would we prove something like that?"

Discord gestured towards the books. "You have enough romantic novels here. While I have no idea if you read any of those, I am fairly sure you're collecting them just as eagerly. Books are books, after all. So, we'll sit right here and listen to you reading one."

Twilight wasn't sure in the half dark, but she could've sworn there was something so similar to malice in those eyes for a second. Either that, or she had been so terrified of his proposition, she was seeing things.

Moments passed in silence, until...

"Fine." She said keenly, before going to the shelves she so rarely visited and pulled out the first romantic book she found. The title of it was 'Naked Singularity'. Huh. It didn't sound that bad. If anything, the title was something she was more familiar with: physics. This could even be fun!

Oh, how wrong she was.

"_Chapter one._" Twilight started swiftly as she got comfortable, sitting close to the fireplace so she could get a better light on the black letters that covered the slightly yellow pages - though it seemed to be stylized that way. She was determined to make a point here.

Discord got comfortable as he lied down, with his elbows on the floor and put his face into his hands, watching her carefully. That stupid smile still lingered on his face. She would show him!

"_As the night slowly neared, Evening Glimmer took the opportunity to take one last look on the setting Sun." Twilight started off confidently. "Its fiery colors, the mixture of red and yellow and the greenery of the grass below her. Only the blue was missing to make her feel like he was here. The sky blue, soft skin of her loved one, of the Pegasus she never forgot, never stopped thinking of... the stallion that she hadn't seen in such a long, long time._"

OK, this wasn't half bad. Cheesy, yes, but not really badly written.

"_She sighed and with a heavy heart slowly trotted off back to the bookstore; her own, small bookstore, her sanctuary where books provided her company..._"

Hey, this sounds a bit like me! Twilight noticed, amused she had something in common with the protagonist. She continued to read normally; the book continued as expected, telling of the Evening Glimmer's feelings and state she was in after her beloved went missing during a rescue mission, for a good few minutes.

Truth to be told, for Twilight's taste, the book was a bit boring so far - just in case, she glanced at the Spirit to make sure he didn't fall asleep, but he was as attentive as before, though munching on some snacks he summoned. Twilight bravely continued.

"_Evening Glimmer put on her tiny night gown, ready to retire for the night, but then something had attracted her attention - a faint sound she recognized as the flapping of wings. As she looked out the window, trying to locate the source of the sound, she saw a familiar blur - a blur of blue coat, decorated with streaks of colorful mane, the color of field flowers._

_'Could it be?..." She spoke without a breath, immediately rushing outside, not even noticing the slow rain that had started to fall, looking around. Then, to her right, a feather. She gasped, running off in that direction, getting further away from the city... another feather._

_Tears were running down her cheeks like a river, mixed with rain drops once she finally found the last feather on a familiar cliff. The place where they shared their first k- kiss._"

Twilight stammered a bit at the word she didn't expect, but continued normally once again - Discord didn't seemed to even notice it. At this point, Twilight wondered if Pegasi really did have that many feathers accidentally falling off, or was it some kind of scheme.

"_'I knew you would come.' A strong, deep voice spoke and Evening Glimmer turned around to face her long lost love - Prism Slash stood there right in front of her, a nuzzle away, in all his magnificent glory..._"

Twilight frowned slightly. What the heck is that supposed to mean?_ Magnificent glory? Story pollution, I say. And what does he mean by 'I knew you would come'? How about knocking, silly!_

"_...magnificent glory, stretching his sky blue wings and allowing his long, colorful mane to flow in the night breeze. The red, yellow and purple in his mane intertwined so enchantingly; it took her breath away even after knowing him for all this time, for all these years... especially after not seeing it for all these months._"

This was getting really boring.

"_'Prism Slash...' Glimmer started, but was silenced by the gentle move of his hoof. 'My love,' Prism spoke, 'there was no day I haven't though about your soft hair, that b-bounces in the breeze...'_"

Twilight got just a tiny bit uncomfortable, but it was nothing she was paying attention to too much. Reading the dialogue was a bit more different after all - she felt like she was invading somepony's privacy.

"_...or your eyes, as purple as the deep, mysterious seas... and your s-smile, your dazzling smile, which frees all of your b-beauty... makes you shine... so w-wonderfully..._"

She was stammering way too much at this point. Her lips became dry for whatever reason and she swallowed lightly to make her stammering go away.

"_'Oh, Prism S-Slash," swallowing didn't help, "I have waited for you only all this time, my love. Never leave me again, promise me!' Glimmer begged, looking straight into his radiant, magenta eyes. Prism Slash smiled. 'Never, my love.' Was all he said before he leaned in, closing the distance between them and k-kissed pa-passion-passionately._"

The very obvious stutter was the first thing that broke the silence from Spirits's side - he let out a very obvious and short snicker. Twilight dared not to lower the book, not wanting to see his teasing eyes, nor wanting him to see her dry, cracked lips or the way even her ears got red.

_"Evening Glimmer let out a content sound into his mouth, allowing him the entrance through her parted l-lips, enjoying every s-second of contact between their t-t-t-tongues!_"

The last word came out a lot louder than she expected due to her nervousness and inpony effort to pronounce it correctly. Her throat was dry and the Spirit didn't even try to hide his snickering anymore. Twilight frowned as she continued.

"_Prism Slash caressed her face gently, then lowered his hoof to her drenched gown that revealed her alabaster colored body, shaped in the image of a g-goddess. He whispered: 'You won't need this anymo_ooOOK, I think we're done here!"

The words that followed after were not words of love and romance only. They were words of something more. Of passion. Very, very, very descriptive passion. Her face was as red as the sunset, her breathing quickened without her noticing and she was thirsty like never before. Not to mention, her heart seemed to have wanted to leave her chest.

Slowly, she lowered the book on the wooden floor, knowing Discord could see her, embarrassed, flushed and beaten in his little game. But she couldn't look at him. Closing the book and pushing it away from her, she simply stared down, feeling the awful wave of defeat crushing over her. She felt almost nervous about all that happened.

Was it the pure shame? Was it the failure itself? Was it because it was him?

Connecting the dots... she came to conclusion it was because of the failure she felt as she got so utterly embarrassed in front of nopony else but him. Meaning, all three.

She knew that if she spoke, her voice would crack. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of witnessing that, so Twilight said nothing, but gave him a determined, though still nervous look, as if to say '_come on, laugh already'_.

After a few horribly long moments that seemed like hours, Discord finally spoke.

"Phew, thank goodness you're done! I was getting uncomfortable here!"

Twilight tilted her head. "Huh?"

Discord wore a relieved expression on his face - and with the relief that seemed to come to him disappeared all of Twilight's worries.

"You mean... it was embarrassing for you as well?"

"How wouldn't it be? It is cheesy beyond belief!" Discord rolled his eyes, looking at her in surprise before he admitted: "I didn't expect you to read half as much as you did. For a moment there, I thought you were going to read the... detailed stuff." He frowned, like the mere thought was bothering him. "Naturally, since I am not the one to lose, I would listen to all of it if needed, but that would be very awkward and utterly gag inducing, don't you agree?" He laughed.

Twilight laughed together with him, though not purely out of amusement - she was happy. She was so, so happy right now and so relieved. Who knew that was what was going through his head during her read. They were much alike, in that way.

"Well, I did feel awfully uncomfortable reading it, as you probably noticed," Twilight admitted sheepishly, "so I guess I really am shy when it comes to those things."

"No no, definitely not as much as I thought." Discord suddenly added. "That was quite a thing you went through. I am impressed. I personally wouldn't read such a thing even if I was tortured."

Twilight laughed at the thought. "Why thank you, that is nice of you to say."

Once her eyes fell on the still unidentified, invisible book he was obviously clutching in his hands, she sighed.

"You'll never let me see that book, will you." She said in a resigning tone. The Spirit shifted a bit.

"Well, you can look at it this way." He replied. " We both have things we're... shy, about."

Twilight narrowed her eyes as a playful smile crept onto her face. "Are you telling my you're reading something you're shy about?"

"Shush!" Discord replied. "That little secret stays between us unless you want me to turn you into a coconut, got it?"

"Hahaha, alright, alright - don't worry, I won't tell anypony you're reading romance novels." Twilight teased, delighted to see the reaction she expected as he jerked on the sole mention of something so shameful.

"It is NOT a stupid romance novel!" Discord seethed, looking almost insulted. "Gag, how can you even propose that?"

"Well, I don't know what else could it be that you're so embarrassed of, but oh, well." Twilight shrugged, but the Spirit didn't offer her any answer. She suddenly yawned, only then realizing what time it was.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe I stayed up this late for this crazy ordeal. Well, it was kind of amusing, if anything. Good night, Discord." She was back in he bed and sleeping in a matter of minutes.

Discord sighed as he made the book visible again. The copy of 'Healing Spells: 2nd Year Textbook' was a big, heavy book in hardcover. Sure, she would probably never realized he had been studying healing magic ever since she ended up in the hospital, even if she saw what book it was; but his pride didn't allow him to show her anything that might give her even the remote idea of doing something for her sake.

* * *

><p><strong>If you, by some miracle, haven't read the ACTUAL FANFIC, '<em>Naked Singularity<em>' yet, I suggest you do so right NOW: .net/story/13565/Naked-Singularity**

**It is one of the funniest things I've ever read, if not THE funniest. A slight bit mature at occasion, but trust me, it pays of.**


	19. Discord's Newly discovered Preferences

**This chapter is the shortest, fluffiest, cutest, silliest most "romantic" thing I have ever written so far and the relationship didn't even develop that much. I apologize. I just had to write this because the idea was too bloody amusing.**

* * *

><p>Discord shifted in front of the fireplace. As winter came closer and closer, he got more and more comfortable with his place in front of it - even though he once said he didn't like sleeping in the same spot twice, having accommodated in Twilight's home so nicely had its effect on him. Not to mention, it was freezing outside.<p>

His ears jerked slightly once he heard the clock striking ten and the Spirit finally decided he had enough of lying around, despite how comfy it felt - it was time to discover what this day had to offer. With a satisfied smack of his lips he got up and stretched - outside, he noticed, a thin, already half gone cover of pure white snow lay on the streets of Ponyville. The winter was coming, slowly.

"Morning, Discord!" He heard the small dragon greeting him and replied something incomprehensible in turn, which seemed to have been quite a normal occurance as Spike didn't reflect on it. Discord noticed the purple unicorn was gone.

"Where is Celestia's favorite student?" He questioned as he crept into the kitchen, crawling across the ceiling like a lizard, much to Spike's amusement.

"She went to get a new batch of quills and some more ink, she should be back soon." Spike replied as he started to prepare some pans to make breakfast - he was unpleasantly surprised when they suddenly turned into rubber ducks.

"Discord, this is no time for fun! Breakfast is serious business; especially when you're as hungry as I am right now."

"But why do it the hard way." Discord commented, rolling his eyes. "Leave breakfast to me this time." With but a click of his fingers, he summoned two small, colorful cakes. Spike frowned.

"A cake for breakfast? Twilight said-"

"Yours is filled with gems."

"I'll get us some milk." Was all Spike said as he rushed off to do just that. The Spirit snickered.

After they ate, Spike got to work, cleaning the library. Naturally, Discord found all that awfully boring, so he decided to have some fun with ponies outside - prepare a prank or two, cause some trouble - perhaps he could even make the ground in the town center icy - he hadn't gone ice skating for so long!

But as the Spirit transported outside, floating without a care in the world above the busy little town, he noticed something. Something different with ponies. He surely had never seen this, anywhere. Not even in Canterlot, where fashion was one of the things worth living for.

All ponies... wore socks.

From above their knees to just above their hooves. Socks. Red, green and blue; of all possible colors and shades. With stripes and circles. Bubbles and smileys, stars and moons, accessories and pockets, loose or sleek, of wool and cotton, silk or something totally different... socks of all kinds of shapes, lengths and designs.

Now, the Spirit wouldn't usually have a problem with a new fashion trend. If anything, he himself liked to experiment with the strange things ponies would wear - oh how many times had he turned somepony's hat into bucket of goo. How many times he turned a cute little saddle into a snake. Or when he encountered Hoity Toity during his last escapade - the way he styled his mane. Or when he magically animated the prints he added on Twilight's dress.

Yes, if anything, Discord liked to have fun with... 'designing'.

But, this was different.

For starters, whoever said ponies in general weren't cute, was so obviously lying - or had a really bad taste. Ponies are darling little beings, of big eyes and most delightful, bright colors. If it were not for their aversion to Chaos, they would make the cutest little beings Discord had ever encountered.

So, anyone who was saying ponies weren't cute before, would now definitely have changed their mind. Discord, baffled to no end, observed as Lyra walked down the streets, trotting happily around and wearing a pair of slightly puffy socks of a golden, Sun-like color that perfectly matched her Cutie Mark and her eyes. Derpy, who flew around in wrinkled socks had socks the colors of the sky with bubbles printed on them. A random mare he never even met wore the cutest little socks with pockets in them.

It was cute to die for; and Discord didn't like it. Too much cute was his number one weakness. Only one mare in all of Ponyville was skilled enough to spread so many socks around overnight. And she had mostly likely given them away, being the Element of Generosity. That bloody fashionista.

"Hiya, Dissy!"

Looking down, Discord saw Pinkie Pie in the most over sized sky-blue socks ever, that were seemingly way too bulgy for her legs - still, she had no problem bouncing with them. Her Cutie Mark was imprinted on their sides.

"What is all of this?" Discord managed finally, gesturing around with his mismatched hands.

"Umm, it's Ponyville, duh!" The clueless pony replied, giggling.

"No, no Pinkie, dear - I meant, why is everypony wearing... these?" He questioned as he gently pulled on one of her socks. The look of realization crossed her eyes.

"Oh! It has been getting cold and all and Rarity came up with these awesome winter socks! Us young lads think they're totally rad!"

Lads? Rad? The most random vocabulary ever.

"Well, anyway Dissy, gotta be on my way! Oh, you should totally get some socks as well!"

As if! Discord thought with a surprised smile as he watched her bounce away. This was all too much or him. He flew back to the library, hoping that by the next day, those silly socks would be a thing of past.

* * *

><p>The socks became a huge hit in Ponyville.<p>

Discord had no other choice but to get used to it. The cuteness overload was something he'd just have to deal with - not that it was unpleasant, but it sure was distracting in the beginning.

There was only one thing that bothered him by the end of day three since socks took over the world.

Twilight Sparkle was prancing around the library, either indulged into her research or reading, or talking to Spike - at some point she even said something to Discord, but he just nodded absentmindedly, staring at her naked hooves. The absence of socks on the purple unicorn was bothering him. Why? Hell if he knew. All Discord knew was that he had to get Twilight to willingly wear socks. Unwillingly wouldn't be... natural.

He used to love unnatural, though - he still did, but this was a special case. What in the world was going on for him to think this way?

"Twilight, look what Rarity made me!" Spike proudly showed her a cute jumper of emerald green color.

"Wow, that's a really nice jumper! I'm surprised she even had time for you with all the socks she's been making lately."

Chance for a conversation about the blasted socks!

"Didn't generous Rarity make a pair for you as well?" Discord asked casually, not even looking at her.

"She did, in fact and a very nice pair, too," Discord's ears perked up, "but I decided not to wear them." He frowned.

"Why not? I'm sure they're beautiful and would keep you perfectly warm." Spike commented.

Twilight shrugged. "Truth to be told, I just don't feel that cold."

Discord smirked.

* * *

><p>"By Celestia, it is cold!" Twilight shivered. The afternoon was much more merciless than the morning, when Sun was still slightly warming everypony. Now, thick gray clouds covered the sky and rain was falling like it hadn't in years,<p>

"It is indeed." Discord agreed gleefully. Twilight gave him a suspicious look, so he added a bit more concerned: "You should watch yourself. You might catch a cold."

"Gosh, winter sure can't wait its turn." Spike remarked - the jumper Rarity had made for him suited him well on that cold afternoon. Looking outside the window, he practically saw nothing from all the rain that poured down on Ponyville.

"That is strange. The weather ponies hadn't mentioned any strong rain yesterday." Twilight scratched her chin with her hoof before she finally shrugged it off. "I guess they can't always be right."

The library door suddenly opened as a strong wind blew through the library. Discord, who was guilty of both that and the rain, floated over to the door and closed them swiftly.

"Freezing!" Twilight exclaimed, before finally climbing up to her bedroom, presumably to get dressed.

Discord in the meantime both celebrated his successful plan and cursed himself for even going with it. Seriously, he hadn't felt so humiliated since... well, ever. Whatever, he told himself, as the Lord of Chaos I was capable to demand whatever I want, whenever I want. And since the tables turned and I can not no longer simply demand, I just had to improvise to get things going my way.

Whether all of that were just excuses for his unusual wish to see Twilight dressed in that accursed piece of clothing or not, he himself didn't know.

"I knew these would come in handy!" He heard her say and turned around. For a single short moment, he wished he didn't because the silliest smile crept onto his face.

"Look, Spike! Don't they look like something Rarity would make?" Twilight proudly extended one of her hooves forwards. They were stripped, with various shades of pink, violet and dark blue - much like her mane. They weren't puffy, instead they went right against her skin, complimenting her long legs.

"Wow, they're really nice! Rarity sure did her best!"

"She's been making them for days now - not to mention she had been giving many of them away. I heard she'll be going to Canterlot with these. With a little luck, all of Equestria will be wearing them and Rarity might even get famous!"

Thus she got back to her usual business. Little did she know she was victim of Discord's stalking-

_AHEM. I am not stalking, I am just.. observing._

Sure you are. Anyway, Discord got back to "observing" Twilight's movements, quite literally - her every twirl, every walk, every time she happily bounced as she observed her new socks - she seemed to enjoy them quite much as she even at one point started a little dance.

Discord dug his face into the pillow desperately. So. Cute.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, the socks were a marketing flop?" Twilight's jaw fell slightly on the news Rarity had just delivered, her head hanging low. Somewhere in the back, Discord accidentally broke a plate upon hearing the news.<p>

"Well, apparently those fancy gents of Canterlot think my darling socks are too much of a 'street wear'." Rarity said, her face composed but her voice clearly announcing just how upset she was. It would probably take her some time to start looking at her precious Canterlot the way she did before. She mostly likely felt completely rejected and humiliated.

"Some smaller businesses have offered to buy most of what I made, so it won't be a complete waste... but I had hoped so hard they would make it to the top of the tops, you know?"

"I know Rarity. I am so sorry to hear that. Hey, if anything, us 'low society'," Twilight tried her best to be heavy on sarcasm, "love these. You made something awesome, you just gave it to wrong crowd, that's all."

Rarity gave her friend a small smile. "Thank you Twilight. You're a good friend, really. I guess not all is lost. I gave so many of them away, I might just do the same again. Oh, or maybe a charity sale, that would be fun! Oh, I have so many ideas right now! Thank you dear!" She was ready to leave, suddenly in a good mood, before turning around again: "Oh, right! Here is another pair, complimentary of course - I thought this one would suit you well. Ta-ta, dear!" She rushed off, mumbling some plans under her breath.

Twilight frowned as she closed to door to the library.

"Too bad. I really started to love these." She got out the pair she just got - midnight blue with white stars. Rarity sure knows my taste, she thought as she put them on, waving her hooves playfully.

"Spike? Spike, where are you? We have work to do!"

"If I am not mistaken," Discord spoke as he floated around the ceiling lamp, "he went to console lady Generosity."

"Figures - just while we're in the middle of cleaning, he has to leave."

"... I guess I could help you."

"No way! I am not letting you anywhere near my books!"

The Spirit chuckled. "I'll be good, I solemnly Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He did the swear that he most definitely learned from Pinkie.

"OK then - but you promised, so..."

"Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise." Discord said seriously before the two got to work - or in Discord's case, glancing constantly at the purple pony's attire.

Such a stalker.


	20. Things that We Do

Twilight was tired. That was an understatement, but still; she was so, so tired.

For the past five days now, she had barely gotten two hours of sleep each night. Usually, even Twilight would sleep for at least six hours to regain enough energy to continue her studies the next day, fresh for work.

But be it that she was busy or perhaps late with her reports and research or something else, Twilight was by now commonly awake until the dawn would break; she would fall asleep for a couple of hours and then wake up, grumpy and messy, to continue her studies.

Her bad mood, inflicted by both lack of sleep and the ton of work she so suddenly had to do, had rather negative consequences for the rest of the habits of the library, one of them being that Spike had much more work to do. As for the other one...

"For the 74th time, Discord," Twilight started through the gritted teeth, "no, I don't have time to go out, play a game or watch a movie. I can't help you prank anypony, nor am I in the mood to leave the house. It is too cold these days, anyway. I have a ton of work to do, so I implore you, leave me alone already."

Discord pouted. It would be a fruitless effort to whine about how bored he was, so he offered to do the one thing he definitely hated more than all - work.

"How about I help you with these, dear?" Discord flipped through a fat, heavy stack of research that was only one of the many that were ready to be sent. "You have been under a lot of pressure lately, I can see - if I was any more impolite, I'd even suggest you need your beauty sleep."

Twilight glared at him momentarily before snorting.

"Yeah, as if you could actually help me with something like this. My job isn't easy, you know."

"Well then, teach me. I have been doing nothing you pony folk would call 'useful', anyway. While a life of pranks and mean spirited antics has its many perks that I would could never do without, I prefer to be of use every once in a while." Discord replied.

Twilight honestly doubted his words, concluding he was simply so bored out of his mind, he was even willing to work. The truth was the Spirit wanted her to get her sleep and possibly some free time - it was boring in the library without her or Spike entertaining him or keeping him preoccupied.

"Alright, fine then." Twilight finally said as she pulled out her list of tasks. "Let's see if there is some easy task in here to keep you busy for a bit. But if you screw it up, forget it. I'd rather do it all properly without any help."

Discord clicked his tongue but said nothing - who knew she saw him as that unreliable of a draconequus. He peeked over her shoulder to check out the list. It was mostly composed of research she had to finish and reports she still needed to write. One of them was on friendship. Huh. Discord wondered if she ever wrote about him in those letters.

"Oooh, how about this?" Discord excitedly pointed over her shoulder to one of the tasks on the bottom of the page. Through tired eyes, Twilight focused to make out her tiny writing among the countless tasks; finally she made out the small letters that read 'visit Princess Celestia and pick up the books - important, pick up personally'.

"NO WAY."

"Oh come on~~~" Discord whined, playfully swirling around Twilight. "I'll guard those books with my life and I won't cause any trouble, I promise. I do wish to pay Celestia a little visit, thought..." he sneered.

"See, that!" Twilight pointed her hoof accusingly at him. "That wicked smile is why I can't allow you to go there! You'll do something, I know it!"

Discord's smile faded a bit. "Don't you have any faith in me?"

Twilight groaned at that face. He probably wasn't aware of it, but that face where she wasn't quite sure whether he really was hurt or just seemed so was a very powerful expression - and her weak spot.

"Well- I- Oh, fine, fine Discord! But I swear, you must be at your best behavior, or else! This will be the first time you're going out of Ponyville since you were released and I don't want you to cause mayhem in Canterlot, or anywhere else for that matter!"

Twilight kept on with her little lecture, boring the Spirit once again, but he pretended to listen so he could get on with his task already.

"... and the last but not least, do NOT. BOTHER. THE PRINCESSES." Twilight warned.

"Yes, yes, I understand." Discord rolled his eyes. In the next moment, Twilight summoned something and pushed it into his hands. It was a small silver ovular plaque, with her name and Cutie Mark engraved into it. It looked quite fancy.

"This is my official identification for the Royalties," Twilight started, "just show this to the guards at the entrance and they'll let you in... hopefully. Just in case, I'll write an explanation letter to take with you. Clear?"

"Clear as the Sun." Discord replied. With another tired sigh, Twilight wrote a letter he would give to anypony who needed an explanation for his appearance in Canterlot.

"The best you can do is catch a train - although I somehow doubt that is the method of travelling you prefer."

"You doubt right!" Discord smiled at her sweetly before clicking his fingers and disappearing. Twilight let out yet another sigh and frowned a bit sadly as she turned back to her lengthy research.

"Maybe I'm overreacting with all this studying... I can't avoid him forever nor is it good for me..." She murmured in frustration as she scribbled another note about the development of dragons in young age.

* * *

><p>"Oh, the joys of a road trip!" Discord joyfully exclaimed. He indeed had taken the train. But, much to discomfort of the train staff, he took his spot on the roof. Once the train moved, he summoned a picnic basket and enjoyed the crackers with cheese, not at all minding the strong wind nor the way it made most of the food before him fly away. He swiftly summoned himself a glass of strawberry shake as he munched on the snacks. Once they were about to enter the tunnel, he barely avoided getting his head hit before he ducked.<p>

Not even halfway on his journey to Canterlot, Discord became bored. He flew up and watched the train as it got lost behind the hills, the noise of its engine disappearing quickly from his hearing range. He was all alone, surrounded with hills and small mountains. In the distance, he could see the shiny glory of Canterlot. Slowly, almost lazily he continued flying, on his way there deciding to be a little naughty as he colored the trees, left a few cotton candy clouds behind him to wander around and creating a few new flowers to grow at rapid speed - a short lasting freedom, but he was going it enjoy it as long as he could.

It was already late afternoon when Discord reached Canterlot. Deciding it would be fun, he summoned himself that awesome hat Rarity had gotten him, in addition producing a cane and a monocle and pranced through the city like a real gentlecolt.

Needless to say, the fine ponies of Canterlot were both shocked and frightened to see Discord here - many of them had frozen in terror and some even retreated silently to their homes, despite knowing he had spent quite some time living quite peacefully in Ponyville - they simply weren't used to him. A few mares, though, dared to comment on how different he looks as they eyed his hat and cane, thinking he had gained at least some of the Canterlots' refined behavior.

Soon, he found himself before the very castle he intended to visit and was greeted by two very shocked and still a bit frightened guards. Still, that didn't stop the faithful guardians of her Majesty to stand firm before him and demand an explanation for his appearance and the reason for his seeking audience with the princess.

"Miss Sparkle had sent me on official business." Discord spoke with an accent, enjoying his fake role of a sophisticated citizen - it would seem the guards didn't exactly buy it, but the moment they saw Twilight's identification, they allowed him through; though a bit worriedly, eyeing him in a suspicious manner. Discord danced right in, twirling like a ballerina around the fancy floors and swirling around the massive decorative columns. It was unusually empty, aside from an occasional guard that would pass - most of them gave him but a surprised glance and some of them even ignored the playful Spirit. The punishment for ignoring him was having their armors turn pink - which, on amusement on the Spirit, most of them didn't even notice.

"Celestia, sunshine~? Luna, our eternally blue ruler~? Royal Princesses, where are you hiding~?" He sing-alonged just as he passed a certain room - he took a few steps back and entered it. Ah, now he remembered. This was the room where the Elements of Harmony were locked - oh how easy it was to break Celestia's protective spell... with power he didn't have anymore, he bitterly noticed.

Oh! This was the window where he showed them all his famous shuffle! Oh, good old times when he had all the Chaos of the world under control. He reminisced until a familiar voice made him jump.

"Discord? What in Heavens are you doing here?" Princess Celestia asked, genuinely surprised. Discord decided it was time for a royally good prank.

"Why, to steal and hide the Elements once again, of course. As you can see," he showed her Twilight's identification, "I already took care of Miss Bookworm."

Prank was seemingly a brilliant success as Celestia made the most shocked face ever - but it was time to stop the fun once he saw the dark aura spreading around her, her face already contorting into an expression filled with rage.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" He waved his hands. "Twilight Sparkle sent me for books she needed to pick up! See? There is a letter too!"

Celestia blinked and calmed down as she eyed the familiar seal on the letter, still angrily frowning at him for such a cruel prank. "Joke like that once again and you shall spend the next century being taught manners by a foalsitter." She threatened, her voice calm though.

Discord rolled his eyes. "Well excuuuuse me, Miss Sensitive." He mocked before following Celestia, who made her way to her private quarters.

"So, how is your chaotic Majesty dealing with the life of a regular citizen? Twilight hadn't written me much about her progress with you - in her words, I have to see it to believe it." Celestia started, still stern, though with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Is that so." Discord wondered, then gave her a smile. "So, how do you see me?" He spread his arms, presenting himself.

Finally, Celestia giggled softly, her anger completely disappearing.

"Well, you do seem much more cheerful than the last time I saw you."

"Really? I think I am just as same as before."

Celestia arched her brow. "Before your depart, you almost physically attacked my guards, called me a tyrannous ruler and wished for my royal career to end swiftly."

A short silence ensued. "Well aren't we spiteful." Discord finally said, feigned hurt. "That's all in the past."

Celestia's clicked her tongue. "I sincerely doubt you had any good intentions whatsoever coming all the way here instead of my protege."

Discord shrugged as he twirled in the air. "No intentions that aren't meant to aid me first, dearest Celestia. Twilight Sparkle is an extremely busy mare at the moment, which means she has no time for me, which, ever since you so evilly stole my powers, put me in a situation that makes my eternal and usually fairly colorful life rather boring."

"If you think you'll make me regretful of my decisions, you're very wrong, Discord." Celestia noticed.

"Drat." Discord simply replied, emitting a chuckle. "Breaking you is no easy task. Never was, in fact."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Celestia remarked. They finally found themselves in Celestia's chambers, a room that was as neatly decorated and as serene as Discord remembered it from those few times he was here.

"Did you know that the last time I got out, I came here to prepare a few pranks for you?" Discord suddenly remembered gleefully - a memory that Celestia didn't seem to appreciate.

"I unfortunately do." She deadpanned, recalling having fallen into a pool of ice cold water that was once her bed and her carpet coming to life and flying around the room. "It wasn't quite welcome."

"Then I did well." Discord nodded wisely. Celestia gave him a brief smile before reaching with her magic for a slightly big package that contained at least three books. It was heavy in Discord's hands.

"There you go. Give Twilight Sparkle my best of regards."

"Already kicking me out, Celestia? Don't you want to chit chat about the philosophy of Harmony and Disharmony over a cup of tea?"

"As lucrative as it sounds, I am still a ruler of a rather big and, for some reason, quite trouble-attracting country. I have many duties to attend to."

"Is that the reason you were prancing around the castle before meeting me?" Discord tried to tease, but was met with Celestia's indifference.

"I was here for my late lunch - one can hardly make right decisions on an empty stomach, wouldn't you agree?"

"Right~ because you have such a difficult job." Celestia didn't pay his teasing much attention.

"If you are that bored, you might as well accompany Luna."

"Oh right, the little sister dearest you so conveniently sent away to her little honeymoon getaway," Discord sing alonged, finally succeeding in making Celestia frown once again, "where is that little blue rascal?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time to give you a tour; duty calls. Enjoy your short stay, I assure you you're quite welcome." Celestia made sure to give her tone just the right amount of sarcasm that came off more as a joke than an unwelcoming, bitter sentiment - with those words, she trotted off to her balcony and swiftly flew away.

Discord pondered over whether he should or not leave a prank or two waiting for her, but decided against it. She'd have seen it coming. Carrying the package, he kept wandering the castle, unsuccessfully searching for Luna.

Frustrated with his fruitless search, he was about to give up when out of the corner of his eye he saw her starry, dark mane. In one of the lounging rooms, Luna was napping on a divan, a few books surrounding her. For a short second, he remembered Twilight and wondered how was she doing with all that research she had to do.

Then, with an evil grin, he  
>entered the room, summoned a pair of cymbals and spread his arms...<p>

"What are you doing?"

A totally new, young male voice came from the doorway and Discord turned around. There stood a Unicorn of dark, blue mane and pristine white coat. He was seemingly an important pony, as he was wearing a unique uniform and some sort of medal. His stare was slightly displeased and confused as he raised one of his eyebrows.

"Just waking little ol' Lunny up, no biggie." Discord replied in slang, snickering. The Unicorn remained bemused for a while, then broke into a grin.

"Great Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I see you're living up to your title."

Discord felt the obvious hint of playful mock and lowered the cymbals, not smiling anymore. "Well, your Princess here is the one to blame for my inability to do so properly; if anything, I wanted some sort of payback. Now that you're here, though, I might as well bother you for some time."

The Unicorn rolled his eyes and retreated from the room, hoping Discord would just go away - he didn't seem too fond of him. The Spirit, however, flew right over to him, following him down the hall. This visit was getting more interesting with every passing minute.

"So who are you anyway? I doubt I had seen you around before." Discord wondered.

"My name is Shining Armor. I am the Captain of the Royal Guard." The Unicorn replied politely. Discord could've sworn he had heard that name and title before, but he couldn't for the life of it remember where from.

"You sound familiar. Have we encountered each other before? Had I perhaps cast my chaotic spells upon you?"

"I am fairly sure we never met; I was fortunate enough not to get affected much by your last break out." Shining Armor said, enjoying the fact Discord had no idea he was Twilight's brother. He decided to question him a bit, if he was willing to talk, anyway. "So, how is your stay with Twilight Sparkle going? I hear she had you tamed."

Discord let out a frustrated gasp, obviously angered to be put on the same level as a wild animal.

"I was not tamed." He hissed, putting an extra accent on the last word. "Nor I can be, for that matter. If it weren't or the lack of my powers, you'd all get what you deserve."

"What exactly do we deserve with our evil schemes?" Shining wondered aloud, sarcastic. Discord just smiled pleasantly, not answering. Shining Armor shrugged. "When I first heard about you being released, I was convinced it was a bad idea. So far, my opinion hadn't changed much."

"My, am I that unpleasant of a company? Here, have some cotton candy." Discord summoned the treat as he spoke and offered it to the Unicorn. Slightly suspicious, Shining Armor's manners told him he should accept the nice gesture.

"Thanks?" It was rather good cotton candy, too.

"Say, you knew Twilight Sparkle from when she lived here, I assume," Discord suddenly started, curious, "what was she like?"

Shining Armor did his best not to laugh. Oh, the stories he could have told him of his sister.

"I'd say she was much like she is now, only much cuter." Shining Armor joked, laughing softly.

"You mean cuter than she is n- I mean, I didn't mean physically," Discord swiftly corrected himself, hoping Shining Armor didn't catch the first thing he almost said - luckily, the Unicorn was still busy chuckling, "I mean, was she as book loving and hard working as she is now? Lately she has not been leaving her books for even a moment."

"Oh, Twilight has those time periods when she simply wants to indulge in studying all day and all night." Shining Armor explained. "Especially when she's bothered or stressed out about something. Then she won't even get any sleep."

"Really~?"

"Yeah, she can really tire herself out - all because something is on her mind. But then, that blissful, smiling face when she finally falls asleep - so adorkable!" Shining Armor recalled his little sister's studying sessions and tapped his hooves on the marble floor, his eyes squinted as he remembered the adorable scene - he had forgotten he didn't tell Discord of the fact Twilight was his sibling, so Discord stared at him a bit awkwardly.

"What are you, her special somepony?" He questioned, looking rather confused - if Twilight Sparkle had anypony like that, he would have surely know! The Unicorn, however, suddenly shook his head, looking unpleasantly surprised.

"W-wha- No, oh by Equestria, no way! Twilight is-"

"Well, if you observed her in her sleep, that can be either romantic or creepy - depending on the relationship status, I guess." The draconequues teased, enjoying the confusion on young stallion's face.

"No, you- Twilight is my sister!"

Silence.

"Oh. OOOOH!" Discord suddenly remembered where he heard the name. "Oooh~ You are a sneaky one!" Discord sneered and laughed, the Unicorn soon joining him in doing so.

"Well, that was awkward." Shining Armor confirmed. "I must say, as surprisingly pleasant as it was chatting to you, I must meet with my wife Cadance, now. I promised to be back early as we're going out for dinner."

"Oh, what's the occasion?"

"A monthly anniversary of our marriage."

"... a monthly one?"

"We do it every month." Shining Armor admitted, a bit sheepishly.

"I don't know if that's cute or gag inducing." The Spirit teased. "But never mind. It is already that late, now is it? I best be going back - your little sister will be giving me one heck of a death stare should I not provide her with her precious literature."

"I now the feeling." Shining Armor confirmed. The two just stood there for a moment, reminiscent of how unsettling Twilight can be when something involving her book goes amiss.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you." Discord finally said.

"I am surprised to say so as well." Shining Armor admitted. Discord wasn't surprised. If anything, he was rather glad nopony around the royal castle was again cowering in fear. That was becoming boring. "Say hi to Twily for me."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Twily? Seriously, Twily?"

"You're going to abuse that nickname now, aren't you?"

"Like never." Discord devilishly smiled before clicking his fingers and disappearing.

* * *

><p>"Twily, I'm home!" Discord sang playfully as he suddenly appeared in library about two hours later. He was however met with complete darkness, aside from a single candle that burned on the table in the middle of the library. Twilight was there, surrounded by six complete research papers and ten reports stacked on top of each other, all ready to be sent.<p>

"Wow, she is actually done." Discord noticed, as he gently put the package of books on the table. He sat down, feeling a bit bored and wondering if he should wake her he realized she as probably extremely tired and much too worn out for any sort of communication. Having nothing to do, he opened the package for her.

Inside, there were three books. Two of them were just new copies of historic books, both with a small note that said these were an addition to her library. The last book, though, was a book of poems. It was apparently borrows from Canterlot library. Twilight read poems? This was new. The mare never struck him as a poetic type. Or any sort of artsy type.

He opened the book to read a few. He had absolutely no sense of what was good or bad. He ended up hating some and liking some, but nothing in particular caught his attention.

"...'cord?" He heard Twilight mumble and looked up from the book. Twilight tiredly looked over at him, a small smile played on her face.

"How was..." she was interrupted by a big yawn, "...how was your trip to Canterlot? I hope ya didn' make any trouble?" She mumbled, still worn out but satisfied by her nap.

"It was loads of fun." Discord admitted. "I met your brother. I though he was your coltfriend."

A stiffled laughter came from Twilight as she tried to stretch without much success. "That's hilarious. Did you get my books?" She asked as another yawn occupied her. Discord tapped the book he was reading.

"I am reading the poem one right now."

"O-oh." Twilight seemed a bit more awake once he had mentioned the book. Discord cocked an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Well, um... did you read it?" Twilight asked, slightly shyly.

"I did a bit, most of the stuff is boring. Some of these are quite weird though, I don't understand them at all."

"Oh goodie." Twilight relaxed. Discord frowned.

"What is so good about that?"

Twilight wondered whether she should tell him it was a collection of some of the best of love and romantic poems every written. Curse you, not-totally-defined crush. It made her crave books like these.

"Nothing. Sorry, I'm talking nonsense - I'm just so tired." Twilight gave him a suitable excuse. Discord's expression immediately softened.

"How about I take you to your bed? You seem too tired to even walk properly."

"...well, if you insist." Twilight joked with a smile, before her headed plopped on the table again. She was sleeping. No wonder, over the course of this week, she barely got 12 hours of sleep altogether.

Once Discord put her in her own bed, Twilight's face was graced with a grateful smile as she nuzzled into the soft pillows. Shinging Armor sure knew what he was talking about. She was adorkable.


	21. Lesson Honesty

Twilight Sparkle was sitting contently in the middle of Ponyville park, on her favorite bench, reading a book. It was a fairly peaceful and pleasantly nice day. The perfect day for relaxation, and a perfect setting for somepony to ruin the perfection of such a relaxing day. That was the main reason Twilight had decided to take her reading elsewhere. That and, she had been partying way too much for the last three days.

Ever since she finished her working spree, Twilight had been spending time mostly on parties, hanging out with her friends and watching movies with Spike and Discord - she missed her books, but above all, she missed her friends and spending time with them. For a few days, she decided, she would have to take a vacation.

But Twilight Sparkle wasn't nearly as party-prone as her pink, curly friend, soon realizing she missed her books, as well as reading something that didn't have a thing to do with researches. So there she was, sitting in a park in the late afternoon on the particularly nice, sunny although slightly chilly day, her scarf keeping her warm and a book of various stories keeping her company, with nothing but a daisy sandwich for her dinner.

Nothing was going to ruin her vacation. Not until she would get home, at least, where a letter of great importance waited for her. A letter that would start an unfortunate chain of events but also seal the deal on Discord's education on Harmony.

"Hiya, Twilight! How was your day?" Spike asked cheerfully once the mare came home, her smile wide and relaxed. Discord was nearby, floating upside down and observing a small spider that was descending from one of the bookshelf. He had bunches of fun trying to make it dance.

"It was fairly nice, Spike. I finally got to read that independently published book, the Seeds of Kindness. Gotta say, for a collection of stories done by ponies who mostly aren't into professional writing, it is incredibly good."

Spike was relieved to see his friend finally in a good mood. The past week had been hectic for him as well, always having to help the mare with everything she did, even when it completely exhausted him.

"We got some mail, I left it on the library desk." Spike exclaimed from the basement, carrying some boxes down. Interested, Twilight went through the pile of letters. A few bills, a commercial for the store she knew nearby, an incorrectly placed letter that was seemingly for Daisy (Derpy Hooves must've had her hooves in this) and to her surprise, a letter from Canterlot Science Research Facility.

Twilight would send only those reports and researches of greater importance to Celestia, or when Celestia herself gave her some sort of task - but usually, she had always been sending most of her less important works to the Research Facility. Having no idea why would they send her a letter, and excited thought crossed her mind - maybe, due to the ton of work she did during the last week, they decided to send her a thank you letter, or even some sort of appreciation gesture, such as a certificate. Optimistic to no end and excited like a little filly on Hearth's Warming Eve.

Discord seemed to have noticed her excited attitude as he finally left the small spider alone and descended to the floor, observing as Twilight started to open the envelope.

"Good news?" He asked. Twilight shrugged, the silly smile still on her face.

"I can't see what else could it be~" She sing alonged. "I figured since I've done so much during the last week, they probably want to show some gratitude for my hard work." She beamed. Discord clapped unenthusiastically.

Finally, Twilight got the letter out and started reading, Discord joining her in doing so over her shoulder.

"Dear Miss Sparkle - that's me" Twilight started giddily, "thank you for your massive contribution during the course of the last week. It is greatly appreciated." Twilight allowed herself to let out a proud giggle before she continued. Discord rolled her eyes.

"However, we regret to inform you that approximately one half of your reports... are in one way or another... flawed?" Twilight's voice disappeared. She let out another giggle, though this time en extremely nervous one.

"Wow, I seem to be so excited, I can't even read properly. Would you mind continue reading for me?" She pushed the letter into Discord's hands. He blinked a bit confused then coughed.

"We're not sure if you mixed up your papers, but wrong paragraphs seem to be written in the wrong reports. For example, your research titles "the mating habits of parasprites" has several paragraphs on various other agendas, such as the male anatomy of griffins, development of dragons, alchemy traits of poison joke, etc." At this point Discord had started snickering - unlike Twilight, who started sweating heavily.

"G-go on." She said weakly.

"Thus, we can not accept those reports; not until you repair them - we're fairly sure your magical skills are strong enough for you to change and exchange the contents of a parchment with another one - do not fret, with you skill, you won't need more than a day or two of work. Once fixed, we'll gladly accept your reports.

Sincerely, the, the mmmembers of-of-of-pfffahahahaha!" Discord finally lost it, heavily amused by Twilight's mistakes - the reports she worked days and nights on were not accepted. It was probably the most most cruel thing he had chance of witnessing in the last one thousand years.

Twilight at first gave no reaction. Discord's laughter rang in her ears, sounding distant, muted, almost disappearing out of her hearing range - yet, with every second of it, she felt her cheeks burning stronger, her heart pounding, her breathing becoming shallower.

And then, she cried. Soundlessly, without a wince or even a sniff, she shed numerous big tears.

The tears rolled over the edges of her big purple eyes and graced the floor with their presence, damping the wood under the library table continuously. Discord was still laughing; he himself was shedding tears, but the ones of laughter and amusement, not even for a moment noticing the sadness of the mare next to him.

Twilight got up and trotted upstairs to her bedroom, crashing onto her bed. Discord didn't pay it any attention, the sane part of his mind only taking a second conclude she probably went to get a quill and parchment to reply, or whatever.

"What's so funny?" Spike appeared from the basement, wiping his hands.

"Read this!" Was all Discord said, continuing to laugh. Spike's eyes slowly moved from left to right as he read, his pupils becoming smaller and smaller with every words.

"Wow, this is harsh. Is Twilight alright?

"Why wouldn't she be?" Discord questioned. Spike looked back at the letter worriedly.

"She isn't the kind of pony to take something like this easily. I better check on her."

"Now now, allow me. You seem to be busy, anyway."

"Oh - OK, sure. Right." Spike once again returned to whatever business he had to attend to in the basement.

Discord flew to the second floor. Twilight was not in her bed anymore, or in the room; after some exploration, he found her on her small balcony, her telescope beside her, looking at the first stars of the evening.

"Twilight Sparkle, my dear - where did you disappear so suddenly?"

Twilight offered him no answer. He rolled his eyes, annoyed; he flew over to her to meet her face to face.

"Come on now, what is- wrong...?" Only then did he noticed she had been crying, the smudges on her cheeks and slight redness of her eyes giving her away. Concerned expressions crossed his face and he found himself feeling surprisingly embarrassed about his previous reaction.

"T-Twilight?" He managed, sincerely shocked to see her like that. She shook her head.

"Go away, Discord."

"I can't while you're in such distress." He sweet talked.

"I'm fine."

"You definitely don't look so. Or sounds so. Or act, for that matter."

Twilight let out a slightly frustrated sound that was supposed to be pretty easy to understand - "leave me alone".

Discord, however, had other plans. Almost fatherly like, he scooted next to Twilight and embraced her with his fuzzy lion arm in a warm hug.

"Come, come now, tell uncle Discord what's wrong." He said, half humorously and half seriously. Twilight smiled for a short moment, Discord's way of cheering her up amusing her a little bit. She took in a shaky breath and sniffed.

"I... I am just so disappointed with myself, Discord." Twilight started, her voice once again becoming thin. To prevent her tears and as an offering of comfort, the Spirit summoned, a big, red polka dotted tissue and offered it to her. She blew her nose in it loudly. "I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake."

"I'm sure even the greatest of students and researchers have made mistakes like that. Typo here, typo there, a misplaced paragraph or two - 'tis a normal consequence of a stressed student's life."

"Uh... right, you're right, somewhat." Twilight confirmed hesitantly, surprised he'd even know something like that. "But that's not what I was referring to."She sighed sadly. "I overworked myself so much for stupid reasons and I lost sight of what's important - and that's the quality of my work, not quantity... I can't believe I allowed myself to act like a such- such a- childish, irresponsible, unthinking, irrational, immature silly filly!"

"Wow; a little harsh on yourself there, aren't you?" Discord wondered. Twilight looked at him with sad eyes.

"I am just being realistic; those words don't even suffice to describe how horrible I feel!" Twilight sniffed again more loudly, tears once again threatening to leave her eyes. Taking control of the tissue, Discord gently wiped her eyes.

"I... I am so tired." She suddenly said, her eyes closing. Discord patted her shoulder friendly.

"I am not surprised - you did such a splendid job partying these last few days; anyone would get tired."

Twilight finally offered a shaky laugh.

"That's the spirit! Now, let's get you to bed then - you have plenty more resting to do during your vacation!"

By now, she was smiling more genuinely, which Discord called a success.

"Right... thanks, Discord. I, uh... It was nice of you to keep me company." With a nod and a silent good night, Twilight descended down into her bedroom. Discord happily transported down in front of a fireplace and curled up on a fuzzy warm blanket, feeling glad he had resolved the issue.

He had not resolved the issue. Obviously so.

Next morning, Twilight Sparkle, for whatever unfortunate reason, decided to try and fix an old gramophone. The poor thing ended up being in even worse condition than before.

After that, she suddenly decided to fix a dress she had accidentally ripped herself, instead of taking it to Rarity's - which she usually did when she needed anything, from sewing on a button to a whole new outfit. She ended up re-sizing half of the dress to doll size, much to Spike's entertainment.

Discord was during the noon. When he came back home, he confusedly eyed several firefighter stallions speaking to Twilight and Spike outside the library, one of them coming out of it with a hose; they didn't seem too concerned. Twilight bent her head down and studied the grass with no interest. Spike, surprisingly, looked like he was trying his best not to laugh; like he couldn't even decide whether he should laugh or be compassionate.

"What happened?" Discord asked him once he approached them. Still having that mixed up expression on his face, Spike replied:

"Well, did you notice how Twilight has been trying to do things around here lately?"

"I have indeed." Discord snorted, the sight of ruined dress still lurking in his mind, entertaining him.

"Uh... she kind of tried to, eh, prepare the lunch."

"That doesn't sound bad."

"As in, cook it."

"Oh, that is bad."

Discord headed inside - the damage wasn't serious, but the stove was definitely ruined once and for all. The sight of it made Discord recall the good old chaotic days for a moment or two, before Twilight finally bid the firefighters farewell, promising not to ever cook again. As she closed the door behind her, she sighed heavily.

"Well, what did we learn today?" Spike asked her patronizingly. Twilight went along with it, replied quitely:

"Never cook without the presence of somepony responsible who can watch you."

"And?"

"... oil heats up much faster than I thought."

"Good. Now go upstairs and think about what you had done."

Twilight oddly obeyed the small dragon. Discord gave him a weird look, and Spike explained:

"I am the one who will be cleaning it all; as well as replacing the stove. If anything, she had to listen to me this time." He mumbled as he got the cleaning supplies and went to the kitchen, talking to himself and bidding farewell to his faithful metallic cooking assistant.

Discord floated up and peeked through the railing. Twilight was on the bed reading a book. Then again, she was probably just hiding behind it.

"That must be some extra interesting reading material you got there, if you can read it upside down." Discord noticed. Twilight lowered the book. Her face was a mix of anger and sadness. "Do tell, what in the world is wrong? You've taken on some quite interesting tasks today. None of which turned out well, if I might add."

"Oh shush!" Twilight snapped. Discord acted hurt.

"Why, you're hurting my feelings, Twilight Sparkle! At least that's something you're good at."

Those words were the last straw for the stresses mare as she started to cry again - this time a little more desperate than before. Discord rolled his eyes, hating the fact he was the one to make her cry.

"Alright, that's enough. You're going to tell me what's wrong this instant, young Missy!" Discord commanded. Twilight at first just stared at him. The Spirit expected anything; for her to cry into her pillow, to tell him to get lost, to simply lose it and starts pouring insults as a way of getting the stress out of her system, he wouldn't mind. But he never expected her to suddenly wail like a small filly and, much to his great discomfort, throw her hooves around him, crying into his fur. Torn between telling her to get off of him, pushing her away, and holding her for comfort, Discord just stood there, baffled and confused. Among the muffled cries, he heard her speak.

"I'm useless, Discord!" Twilight exclaimed, gripping him into by now rather painful hug. " I can't do anything right! I totally failed everypony at Canterlot Science Research Facility, I made a complete fool of myself - I am no student! I am just a mess! I can't believe Princess Celestia was so kind to enroll me into her School for Gifted Unicorns! I can't do anything right!" She repeated again, crying further.

"I tried to do other things, only to make myself feel better - how selfish is that? I ruined my own stove, I only ensured Spike has even more work than he should, him being only a baby; I just keep being a bothersome, useless pony for everypony around me!"

To say Discord was surprised to hear such things from the usually collected, cool mare was an understatement.

"Now hold on for one Chaotic minute!" Discord said, pretty fiery too, as he gently pushed away her shoulder so he could get a good look of her sad face. "Where did this all came from?"

"What do you mean, where did it come from? Have you not seen that letter I got?"

"Oh who cares about the letter; anypony can make a mistake! You were extremely tired and worn out!"

"Exactly! How could I allow that! I should know better than anypony how to do things properly!" Twilight complained. Discord sighed.

"You, my dear, are so completely stubborn; not to mention blind."

"W-What do you mean?" Twilight sniffed.

"Well, now," Discord sat down, "if you really must know, I have to say I never met, or saw a more hardworking and smarter mare than you are - and yet, here you are, grieving over one small mistake you did."

"It wasn't a small-"

"Everypony makes mistakes, both big and small. Fine, there, you screwed up." Discord admitted, deciding to put things out into the open. "But have you ever wondered what ponies you sent these reports to thought upon seeing them?" Twilight blinked and lowered her head.

"They thought I was stupid, duh." She mumbled; Discord however, let out a disbelieving laughter.

"Do you really think that all of a sudden they would find you stupid? No, much like I am wondering, they probably asked themselves, what in the world happened to you that you managed to perform such an odd and unusual mistake - you who checks every single thing at least three times!"

Twilight gulped, knowing that she couldn't tell him it was to get her mind off things - or in particular, that one thing, that still-not-entirely-defined-crush.

"I... I don't know." She said, not wanting to lie to him, but not wanting to make stuff up either. Discord seemed to have decided to leave her be with her so-called ignorance, though he did have a suspicious gleam in his eyes.

"Now listen," the Spirit began once more, "if I hear one more word about you being stupid or anything silly like that, I'll honestly have to turn your home into a big thing of jello. You'll wake up each working morning at the exactly same time without dilly dallying. You do all your chores, tasks and whatever Celestia puts you through in time and when I say in time, I mean in that exact minute, not a moment earlier or later."

He seemingly couldn't stop himself at the moment, which took Twilight by surprised as he moved on: reminding her of how she banished an Ursa Minor (though having no idea how he knew that), reminding her of her impeccably organized library and her almost photographic memory. The deducing skills she used on while riding the Ponyville Express to uncover the mystery of the defiled desserts, the very fact she was the Element of Magic and Friendship.

Friendship.

Discord's voice faded a bit as Twilight had realized something. These things he told of her, as much as she didn't like boasting about them... these things were true and she was proud of them once. Before finding herself in depression over something she brought on herself. Why was she depressed again? She had so much to be proud of, so much to be thankful for! A wonderful home, a terrific "little brother" who is also her number one assistant, sticking with her through everything; beautiful friends who helped her figure that one thing that was missing in her life; for Equestria's sake, she was a student of Princess Celestia herself, her greatest role model. Her dreams had in fact come true; never by pure luck. She worked hard for them.

Once again, her eyes concentrated on Discord, who was just finishing his little speech.

"... and last but not least, you and I managed to bake a pie! Which is yet another successful mission you can put in your resumé!"

He was being honest.

Twilight's face broke into such a happy smile so suddenly, Discord was actually surprised by it.

"Thank you." She simply said; her face, aside from the remaining tears she shed before, was an epitome of happiness at that moment.

"Huh? Why, what did I say?" Discord cocked an eyebrow, his confusion making Twilight giggle.

"You were being sincere with me."

"I was- I was not, I was just being... well, rational?" He tried to search for the right word, still confused. Twilight shook her head, and Discord was getting annoyed.

"What did I do?"

"Sometimes, a little honesty is enough to improve somepony's whole day."

"Honesty?" Discord observed as Twilight happily trotted downstairs, calling for Spike to prepare them a picnic basket, which he gladly accepted.

Soon after they were all in the park, including Pinkie Pie who tagged along - not before she invited everypony else she could as well, though, so Fluttershy and Applejack soon joined in.

"And then the firefighters came, so luckily, everything was under control. But I'll need to get a new stove." Twilight finished, a bit sheepishly. Pinkie Pie roared with laughter, but Fluttershy looked concerned.

"Are you sure you're all fine?"

"Oh definitely. I learned a valuable lesson today. Oh, Spike, that's right," Twilight turned towards the small dragon in the middle of a gem sandwich, "I'm really sorry for everything I've done today; I am such a troublemaker sometimes. Forgive me?"

Spike was stunned with her words for a moment, but then just grinned. "It's all right, Twilight; you don't have to worry about it, really."

"So, how are ya two gettin' along?" Applejack asked, glancing at Twilight and Discord, who was busy playing with bugs in the grass - or, to be honest, he was more scaring them by burning the small pieces of grass around them. Fluttershy winced.

When he realized they were all looking at him, Discord left his little game and spoke:

"We're getting along remarkably, thank you for asking. Here are your invitations to our wedding as well."

Applejack spit out her juice in surprise when Discord gave her the fake cards decorated with two white Pegasi drawing and a golden trim. Pinkie Pie, who immediately knew it was but a joke, joined him in his laughter. Fluttershy giggled as she looked at the invitation.

"For a fake, it certainly is well done." She commented softly. Twilight merely rolled her eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed that he compared their growing friendship with a wedding.

Still, she'd take what she can get.


	22. The Truth and Trust

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash burst into the library without a warning, making the mare jump in surprise. She was in the middle of reading the book of poems Discord had brought her the other day, and after a long sleep, she had finally decided to relax now that she fixed all those blasted reports.

"Rainbow Dash, don't you know how to knock?" Twilight shook her head disapprovingly, still trying to catch her breath.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of her, a big grin plastered on her face. "Heh, sorry Twilight, but I'm just so excited!"

"Oh, what about?" Twilight inquired curiously as she closed the book.

"I got the tickets, Twilight! I got. THE. TICKETS! Five super special awesome tickets!" Rainbow performed several tricks in the air to show just how excited she was, but Twilight didn't follow.

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but what are you talking about?"

For a mere second, the colorful mare's face fell.

"Twilight, I've been talking about the upcoming Spritebreach match between the Manehattan and Ponyville teams for weeks now. Seriously, were you even listening to me?"

Twilight suddenly brightened up. "Oh, oh wait, I know what you're talking about, of course I listened to you! Sorry Dash, you got me confused there for a moment. It was just completely off my mind."

"Well no wonder," Rainbow Dash snickered, "you've been working hard for days. But now that you're free, you totally, totally have to go with me! Applejack and Pinkie Pie will go with us too!"

"What about Rarity and Fluttershy?"

Rainbow Dash impatiently waved her hoof. "Rarity was the one that gave me the tickets - I asked them both if they wanna go, but neither seemed too interested - I'm not surprised about Rarity, but Fluttershy as a Pegasus should have been more supportive." Rainbow Dash concluded. Twilight smiled, amused by her friend's logic. "They decided to go to the spa together instead."

"Oh, does that mean you have a ticket extra? I am sure Spike would love to go."

"That... would be... awesome." A strained voice of the little dragon came from behind them. The still opened library door seemed to have slammed into Spike once Rainbow Dash so violently rushed in and banged him into the wall. Half worried and half trying to contain herself from snickering, Rainbow Dash rushed over to him.

"Oh gosh Spike, I am so sorry. Of course you can have the extra ticket - after this, you deserve one." Dash apologetically managed as she grabbed his claws and helped him to get out of the hole he was stuck in.

"Thanks, Dash." Spike mumbled as Rainbow Dash managed to take him out of the wall.

"I'm heading to Pinkie's now, we'll be making some snacks for the match - it's tomorrow, so you better be prepared!"

"Prepared? For what? It is not like we're going camping." Twilight remarked.

Dash sighed in annoyance. "Prepared for an afternoon filled with adrenaline and a massive party afterwords, duh! Don't be like Fluttershy - I mean even she in the end successfully gave me a good cheer on the competition last time."

"I assure you we'll be as loud as possible." Twilight gave her a meek smile, half honestly - yelling and loud cheers weren't exactly her forté.

"You better!" Dash playfully winked. "I'll see you tomorrow, three o'clock, Cloudsdale - there will be an air balloon transporting ponies and many of them casting spells for those who can't walk up there! Come a bit earlier, there's gonna be a lot of ponies and you'll want to get a good spot!" With those words, she flew out, a bit more carefully this time.

"Wow Spike, did you hear that? We've been invited to see a match of Spritebreach! I've never been to one of those before!"

"Me neither. What kind of sport is that, anyway?"

"Hmm, I'm sure we have a book on it somewhere..."

Twilight swiftly summoned several books on sport and started going through them expertly, soon finding what she wanted.

"There it is! Spritebreach, a popular sport played by Pegasi in the air; the rules of the game are simple; three Pegasi of each team, named chasers, must use their flying skills and collect points by throwing a ball through one of the three vertical hoops set on the each side of playground, guarded by one keeper. Each team has two beaters who are trying to get other players distracted by any means necessary that do not involve touching them or performing anything unruly - more specifically, by performing distracting tricks in their close vicinity or trying to block their way."

She paused for a bit.

"Ah, the most important bit - each team also has a seeker that must catch the runaway parasprite - catching it automatically ends the game and brings the most points, usually, but not necessarily, meaning victory for the team."

Spike frowned. "That sounds complicated." He complained, earned a roll of the eyes from the Unicorn. "Besides, isn't it dangerous to let a parasprite wander around?"

"Apparently, there's some sort of special spell put on them to control their urge to eat," Twilight further explained, reading on, "and instead makes them in need of exercise; thus making them faster, more agile and harder to catch. Goodness, I need to look that one up."

"Nifty. Sounds like a good dieting plan."

"Oh, stop goofing around - I am really excited to see this. I haven't had a chance to participate in many sporting events. The last time I was a part of one was during that Summer Camp. And I don't have a lot of nice memories to brag of either." She deadpanned, making Spike snicker.

"You mean the dodge-ball accident?"

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. "I though we agreed not to speak of that again. Ever."

"We did, but still, it is quite hard to forget that 'wonderful' hat you had to wear for almost six months." Spike grinned evilly.

"The ball mark just wouldn't go away!" Twilight replied defensively. "Even my bangs couldn't cover the obvious imprint on my forehead."

"If my memory serves me right, you were affectionately dubbed as 'Sockhead'."

"Oh, hush!" Twilight finally protested, hitting her hoof against the floor - giggling like a small filly, Spike ran to the kitchen. Twilight sighed.

"Where is that draconequues?" She suddenly asked to herself, mildly annoyed Discord wasn't here when she needed him - usually, he was around her all the time, at times even bothering her. Just where had he gotten to?

"Discord~?" She called, her voice giving away her mild annoyance. No answer. She let out an exasperate sigh.

"Never mind, I'll get to him later. Hey, Spike - forget the breakfast, we'll eat outside today."

"What's the occasion Twilight?" Spike asked cheerfully, throwing the apron he was about to put on aside.

"Occasion? I spent yet another day fixing those reports, that's the occasion. If I spend another minute inside researching anything else, I might finally go crazy." Twilight explained, opening the library door and breathing in chilly, fresh air. The day was surprisingly sunny considering that winter was at the door, but it was still cold, prompting Twilight to summon their scarfs.

The leftovers of occasional, light snow were still visible and the ground was slippery at places. Small, soft icicles formed on the edges of the house roofs, glistening in the Sun. The remains of still green grass were decorated with icy dew. Twilight couldn't help but to take in all of those details with curiosity of a filly - spending so much time in the library made her almost forget about the small beauties of the outside world.

The duo stopped at the nearby cafe, sitting in comfy chairs outside and observing the faint, barely noticeable rainbow forming somewhere in the distance while the waiter trotted towards them. Spike, as always, first questioned if they had any gems, to which the pony replied with but a deadpan look. After asking for pancakes with marmalade and Twilight ordering a hay salad, the pony left them alone. The silence of the noon, the unusual emptiness of the town, the impeccable weather and the serenity of a peaceful outing caused Twilight to doze off, her mind obviously somewhere else as she never noticed the small dragon started talking.

"...and I thought, heck, if a mustache doesn't work, what else will? So I decided that just maybe, I need a wig, I mean after all, stallions probably wouldn't look as good without their manes, so if I technically GET a mane, I just might- Twilight? Hey, you listening? Equestria to Twilight." He waved his claw gently in front of her face, finally getting a reaction. She jerked slightly before offering him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Spike, I kind of got lost in my own thoughts." Twilight gave him a sheepish smile.

"Is something troubling you?" Spike asked. Twilight shrugged.

"Not really, I kind of just let my mind wander off..."

"You really spent too much time in the library, it's messing with your head." Spike teased.

"Maybe." Twilight replied shortly, not wanting to talk about her wandering head too much - it had been happening a bit too often lately, and it would commonly involve a certain Spirit. "But that's all over now. We can finally relax!"

"Awesome!"

"But the daily rearranging of the books is still happening."

"D'oh."

"We can't allow ourselves to get too lazy, after all." Twilight sternly continued. "We must nurture the working habit if we wish to do our work with ease as always."

"Ease as always?" Spike skeptically repeated.

"You wouldn't want to be like Discord, now would you."

"Uh..."

"I mean, with his powers he doesn't need to work but still!"

"Twilight-"

"I know, I know, he isn't lazy, he's just bored with regular jobs - but it wouldn't exactly kill him to be of use to the community every once in a while."

"Here's your salad, dear."

"Thank you, Discord. Now, what was I- huh?" Twilight blinked before looking back at the waiter - that is, at Discord who was for some reason there with their order.

"Now that you have so bluntly expressed your opinion about me," Discord started, though knowing well she didn't mean anything bad, "is there anything else that bothers you about me?"

"I-you- that wasn't- what are you doing here?" Twilight finally asked, confused. Discord shrugged.

"I just went out to cause some trouble. I miss causing trouble. So I planned on planting you a spicy salad, but judging by the look on manager's face, my prank has been 'discordovered'. Get it? I put 'Discord' in 'discovered'. A riot, ain't it?"

Spike furrowed his brow; Twilight just facehoofed.

"As much as your silly puns amuse me at times, I am not really fond of them at the moment." She replied. "I have been looking for you - me and Spike are going to see a match of Spritebreach tomorrow."

"Oooh, I can't wait to get into the game, and show them Pegasi how a REAL player catches -"

"There are no more tickets."

"Well Geez Louise, whatever shall I do?" Discord wondered, heavy sarcasm in his voice. "It's not like I can just, I don't know, teleport in, become invisible or simply show up as a VIP."

"I sincerely doubt the last one would be possible in any scenario."

"Why would you think that? After all, I am an extremely important addition to the community. Didn't you see all the ponies gossiping about my pranks and mean spirited acts? I am a social asset!"

"ANYWAY," Twilight continued before he could, "I am not sure if that is entirely fair - I mean, everypony else paid fair for the tickets."

"You too?"

"Well... no. I got them. "She blushed. "Well fine, if you wish you can sneak in with us."

"As kind as you are, I've seen tons of these matches while I was free of the captivity in your library, so no thank you. I am not entirely interested." Discord joked.

"Oh. You could've said so in the first place."

"Making you feel guilty about it for a moment first was way too amusing."

"So, since you won't be there, and we're also in the middle of discussing your working habits, I thought you might do me a favor and do some things around the library." Twilight suggested, a gleeful smile suddenly appearing as the nifty idea came to her. Discord raised an eyebrow, his expression prompting Twilight to continue. "It is nothing hard or big! I'd just need to clean the dust beneath all the furniture - it would take you minutes, really."

Discord's bemused gaze didn't change much as he shrugged.

"I'll see - if I have nothing better to do, I might think about it."

"Thank you." Twilight politely replied, deciding to trust him with the task.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared before the manager of the café got close enough to protest. He looked at Twilight, bemused.

"Your mismatched friend tied up our waiter and trapped him in the supply closet." He told her, slightly angry. "Apparently, he thought it would be a good prank to also call the Officers of Law."

Twilight's head sank and hit the table.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hurry up, Spike! The match is starting in barely 30 minutes!"

"Hold on; my hat keeps tilting!"

Twilight sighed. "All these fan clothing and cheer leading... equipment," she pronounced, glancing at the small flags, scarfs, hats and face paints Rainbow Dash brought a few hours ago, all of them a combination of golden yellow and emerald green colors, "is not even necessa-"

"It is SO necessary!" Spike gasped, looking at her in astonishment. "Nothing shows the significance of the competitive spirit in an important match like cheer leading material!"

"Fine, fine." Twilight smiled softly, amused by the excitement of her assistant. "But hurry up."

When Spike kept struggling to maintain his hat on his head, Twilight finally interfered, and his hat remained in place.

"Onward to victory!" Spike yelled out, and skipped through the opened door.

"Spike, wait for me!" Twilight yelled out, scribbling a quick message for Discord, who was once again absent, and then followed him out.

One balloon ride and a few spells for cloud walking later, they were in the familiar cloudy city - there was a huge cloudy stadium, which probably had been prepared for quite some time already. The stadium was surrounded with several entrances where ponies would give their tickets to the employees, in turn getting a small tag that was a proof they paid for entering; quite a number of ponies, as well as griffins, was present, both from Ponyville and other cities, some of them coming from quite far away to see their favorite team playing. A large number of ponies was "outside" of stadium boundaries. Luckily, Rainbow Dash seemed to have found a good spot from where they could see everything that was happening pretty well.

"Hey, glad to see you wore your cheer leading uniforms!" Rainbow Dash greeted them once they came closer to her and sat down.

"Uniforms?" Twilight questioned the expression.

"The match is starting in fifteen minutes!" Dash was obviously excited like Twilight had never before seen. Those fifteen minutes passed painfully slow to her, but at last, the two teams, one of ponies in golden-green vests, and the other of griffins in blood red and dark blue clothing flew into the field, drawing many screams of excitement from the crowd.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Discord floated around the library. By the time he came back from Pinkie's, as she had asked him to help her get her full body painted into the colors of the team she was cheering on, Twilight and the little dragon were already gone.

Having literally nothing to do and knowing the town was empty as everypony left for the game, Discord thought of turning a few houses upside down, just for his own amusement - then he recalled he was far too weak for such a feat. He sighed, a bit remorsefully. He never told Twilight anything - why would he anyway, he's not a child - but lately... lately, he was becoming more and more nostalgic, remembering the grand things he could once do. Sure, pranks were awesome, he had fun doing them. Yes, he did posses a few spells that effectively granted him with many possibilities, gave him the opportunity to give every pony just the right pinch of chaos to spice up their life and to feel amused.

But it... it just wasn't the same. It never would be. During the last few weeks, he'd been keeping his little suffering for his old powers to himself, deciding to enjoy and indulge in as many activities as possible, quite successfully too, surrounding himself with friendly faces - and the worse part is, those friendly faces actually became his friends. Real friends he didn't want to hurt. Friends he never asked for, and it made him weak. Discord hated weak.

The Spirit shook his head, chasing the uncomfortable thought out of his mind.

He decided to make himself busy with cleaning the library as Twilight had asked him to. Floating in the air and whistling some random tune, all he needed was a click of fingers to get the furniture floating in the air, and another click to get the brooms moving, sweeping the dust towards a pile in the middle of the room.

Soon, he was singing loudly about cleaning, dancing around the library and animated furniture. As he did, he accidentally bumped into a bookshelf, and something fell on the floor. Some research of some sort. In the next moment, reading Twilight's handwriting on it, Discord delightfully realized it was a research on him.

"Oooh, let us see what it says!" He knew he wasn't supposed to touch Twilight's research, but he figured he had the right to know - also, he was super curious. He opened it.

The first few pages didn't say anything concrete, mostly facts about the draconequues species that he told her, assumptions and small changes Twilight noticed in his behavior. Pretty much the expected.

Then he came to a strange sketch. A sketch of himself, sitting on a floor and cupping some substance in his hands. It took Discord several second to realize what that was. What the drawing represented. His eyebrow jumped up.

He kept reading. Like after line, sketch after sketch, the truth was stabbing through his stomach like a knife through soft butter.

Once finished with the research, his arms fell aside, his grip weakening and allowing the papers to silently fall to the floor. He stared at the nonexistent point in the air, deep in thought. Then he snarled, and his eyes sparked with an old, reawakened menace; he raised his eagle arm and clicked his fingers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Sky Trotter caught the Parasprite! Cloudorr's win!"

A series of excited screams and whistles was heard, as well as a massive amount of hooves banging against the soft cloud in celebration. A pony with a dark black mane flew one last time around the stadium area, the parasprite secured in his hooves, before landing somewhere down on the fluffy field. The match was over and the Sun was going down. Many of the them, both the victor ponies and the defeated griffins, stayed for an upcoming after party that was going to be one of the biggest parties ever made. Needless to say, Pinkie was going to stay. Rainbow Dash desperately wanted to meet the team members and even Applejack seemed excited for the party to come. Twilight on the other hand wouldn't stick around for too long.

When Twilight finally decided it was a bit late for her, despite Pinkie's numerous pleas to stay and the fact that Rainbow Dash just decided to show some of her dance skills to a rather large group of ponies, challenging Vinyl Scratch to a dance-off, she went back to her hot air balloon. She was pretty tired from all the excitement.

She made her way back to Ponyville, which was completely devoid of life, oddly enough - even with the match, the emptiness of it was surprising. It would be eerie if it were any darker. Twilight smiled, thinking of a good day she was having, not in the slightest expecting to find a completely different sight once she opened her library door.

The world that awaited her inside was familiar. The floor was covered in chess-like pattern, the painfully familiar houses were floating around and the sky was of sickly pink color. Huge tower of cards stood strong and somewhere in the distant sky, pigs were flying. One last reminder was a bunch of rabbits running past her, all of them running on their long, thin legs.

It was just like that last time. The last time he broke out - she was back there. Once again witnessing the madness.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Twilight saw the Spirit lying on one of the candy cotton clouds, not too high, right above her. He proudly observed his land of Chaos, his voice casually, but with an edge of bitterness.

"I missed this scenery. This is nothing but the replay of the past, if you'll notice, but still." He pointed at something, where Twilight surprisingly noticed another Discord, the one from the past apparently, turning one of the houses upside down as he cackled madly - she had forgotten that laughter. It was uncontrollable, it was menacing... and it was composed of sheer happiness and joy.

"Ho-how- what is-"

"Enough, Twilight Sparkle." Discord interrupted. His voice was far from pleasant or nice as usual, the old, already forgotten accent of madness present. "I read your little research." He descended from the cloud and approached the now rather nervous mare. Twilight gasped when he told her what he did, feeling her heart dropping into her stomach. She couldn't quite read how angry he was but one thing was for certain - there would be consequences.

"I've had my powers for a long, long time now, am I not correct?" He said through gritted teeth. "I can't believe my own blindness made me believe I was actually torn apart from Chaos. MY Chaos."

Twilight took a deep breath and gulped; she tried to speak, but all she managed to do was open her mouth, closing them just as fast, like a goldfish on dry land.

The draconequues chuckled evilly as he advanced on her. Twilight took a step back, but stood as tall and firm as she could, despite her shaky knees. She soon realized she wasn't just nervous; she was afraid. The Discord that stood before her was no longer the playful draconequues she knew and loved.

Seeing as she still wasn't being able to speak, the Spirit continued, the anger, the rage, the disappointment in him slowly growing.

"Tell me Twilight Sparkle, when did you plan on telling me?" He hissed. "Have you planned on telling me at all? Or have you perhaps informed Celestia of my little 'development'? Perhaps you even already have a plan to set me back in stone. Perhaps she figured she might want to visit me to try and steal my powers." He leaned in, his eyes shining dangerously.

"Well, that is not happening. Ever again." He spat.

Twilight opened her mouth but the words she tried to get out were lost as the floor underneath her moved. Her own library was suddenly back and she fell to the floor clumsily.

She felt his strong hands wrapping firmly around her hooves as he lifted her up, his face inches away from hers. If it wasn't obvious by then that he was downright furious, she could now see it in all of its frightening glory.

"So before I turn Equestria completely around and destroy those blasted Elements you wanted me to cherish so much, tell me Twilight Sparkle." He paused, taking a deep breath - only then did she notice he was so furious he didn't take a single breath since he started speaking.

"Was it worth it? Tell me Twilight Sparkle, what do you, the smartest pony of them all, think; did I learn anything?"

Twilight had stared into those menacing eyes. It was impossible to know if there was any of that goofy draconequues present at that moment.

There was only one idea on her mind.

"Put me down, and I'll tell you."

The unusual request he didn't quite expect made him blink, but didn't make him any less angrier. He let her slip onto the floor and crossed his arms. Twilight slowly walked over to the shelves - her knees shook and were it not for her mind keeping her in check, her body would have betrayed her a long time ago.

She summoned a book and opened it. Discord squinted his eyes as he saw the familiar cover of the most boring book in the world. Licking her lips and clearing her throat, Twilight read a single sentence she had read him a dozen of times that first night he had come to live with her:

"'The society dictates that one should always follow some of the most basic rules of the etiquette the society made, to be accepted into the said society.'"

She closed it and looked back at him. "Discord, I don't know if you noticed and if you remember, but this was our first lesson. Well, technically the only actual lesson." She allowed herself to digress for a moment.

"I realized there is no such thing as learning theory when it comes to things like this. I had to rely on the faith that you will actually learn something by yourself... living here, participating in things, causing trouble as you always do and learn a thing or two in progress." She realized she was crying. When did that begin she didn't know, but she became painfully aware of the fact her tears already moisturized most of the page she was reading.

"But I must admit..." she continued in a shaky voice, "all this time... I never realized you'd manage to get this far." She wiped the tears with her hoof, only for even more of them to come out. When she finally managed to look at the Spirit once again, a sad, nervous, but wide smile was plastered on her face.

"You can pretend all you want that you haven't learned a thing, Discord, but I got to know you too well for your own good, I guess." She laughed shakily before finally breaking into tears and sobs, unable to stop herself. "So i-if you sincerely want to d-destroy everything we went through with a-a click of your fingers, be my guest! I am at the point where I probably wouldn't want to encase you in stone even if I-I were able to do so by myself!" Twilight admitted in the end, her teary eyes staring straight into his.

There was something shifting this time in the eyes of mismatched creature as he raised his talons, ready to click. Ready to use one single click to make the sky bloody red, make the ponies go crazy, run a stampede of crazed butterflies through the town, dig out the foundations of every single home in all of Equestria and placing them on the bottom of the ocean.

His hand trembled. His face was a mixture of some pained expression and anger. Rage was growing. Insecurity appeared. His breathing was shallow.

"Discord... you found Laughter." Twilight started softly."You learned Kindness and discovered Loyalty. You gained Generosity and realized the importance of Honesty. It all leads up to the greatest Element of all. And that Element, as powerful as it is... isn't Magic."

His hand shook violently, already slippery at this point from the sweat he didn't notice accumulated there. Then his fingers relaxed and fell.

Before Twilight even had the time to feel relieved, he suddenly roared. An angry, extremely loud, almost animal-like scream, sounding defeated, frustrated; almost helpless. He looked around and then spun, looking for something, anything, he could let out his frustration on. When he found no such thing, Discord suddenly flew up and burst out through the closest, still closed window, shattering the glass and sending the splinters and pieces of wood all over the carpet. Twilight ran to the window and caught the glimpse of the Spirit's wings and tail before he disappeared over the top hills and trees.

With no idea of where could he be gone and no idea of what he might do next, Twilight slowly trotted off into the kitchen, grabbed a small broom, and started to pick up the glass from the floor. Then she climbed to the balcony. There, she stood for a long time, observing the distance Discord disappeared in and that's when the realization hit her.

It was probably painful for the Spirit to realize that, despite his efforts and successful accepting of the Harmony's Elements, she was the one failing him when it came to the Element of Honesty. Would he ever realize her fears? From here on, it was up to him .

"I believe in you." She whispered silently.


	23. Wished Away

The Everfree forest was a quiet place. Still and relaxed during the day, the only sounds disturbing the serene silence of it being the occasional chipper of a bird or shuffling of leaves in the breeze. Tense and eerily silent during the night, when predators come out. Everything and every being was quiet then; sleeping, hiding... or hunting.

This night though, the forest was awakened. The creepers were trembling in their homes and the birds hid in the high tops of the trees, wondering where the sounds were coming from. Wondering what brought such an unsettling feeling into their home.

A single timberwolf scout put its ears up and listened, confused and lost by the strange, unfamiliar cries of fury and anger cracking through the night. The sounds of tree bark being scratched, torn, destroyed. For an animal whose skin was mostly covered in timber, it wasn't a pleasant noise.

It slowly sneaked around the trees, following the sound. Soon, it came upon traces of destruction, much more violent than the animal expected. Most of the trees were still cracking sickeningly, threatening to fall down any second. The timberwolf eyed the darkness, observing the path of destruction the creature left behind... then continued on its way.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long after his furious rampage in the Everfree that the Spirit settled down a bit. Discord refused to use magic. He hated that using magic, for whatever reason, was a sign of weakness for him right now.<p>

He was flying slowly down a stray path in White Tail forest; being far away from Ponyville, yet in a familiar and acceptable surrounding, it was one of the rare places he enjoyed being alone in.

He felt awful and yet slightly satisfied. He felt angry at both Twilight Sparkle at himself, both absolutely betrayed and yet guilty. The fact he felt disgusted by his own powers and what they could do angered him immensely. Since when was he the one to wonder just how powerful he was and just what kind of things he could do if he only wanted to? Such... [i]horrible[/i] things.

Almost all of the colorful leaves had fallen from the trees, being replaced by icicles. One of the freezing drops from icicles fell on Discord's nose. The innocent drop toyed with his temper and he quickly relieved himself of the anger by slashing an innocent nearby tree, leaving three long, deeps marks of his lion talons.

"An impressive display of your physical power; a truthful exhibition of your brutal personality as well."

Discord was seriously ready to send whoever was bothering him flying to the Moon. He turned around. The mare didn't look familiar at all, but the extravagant cloak and hat gave her away - he heard many stories of 'great and powerful' magician from Twilight.

"Give me one good reason not to turn you into a mouse." Discord purred evilly. The Unicorn cocked her head.

"If my sources are not deceiving me, you are Discord, the Spirit of Chaos who is at the moment residing in the library of my nemesis, Twilight Sparkle." She replied, ignoring his previous demand; there was a rather specific note of elegance and self centered pride in her voice. No wonder nopony in Ponyville liked her. She reeked of her own ego.

"Well done, well done," Discord clapped slowly, his face giving away his boredom, "you certainly did your research."

"'tis but the main story in all of the newspapers." She deadpanned.

"Ah."

"What are you doing here, Spirit of Chaos?" Trixie asked. "Should you not be learning of Harmony?"

"Harmony my flank." Discord spat, his obvious anger and spitefulness surprising the mare. "I am a free draconequues once again."

"Oh?" The mare seemed intrigued. Before the overly curious mare got to ask any more question, Discord broke into a mocking grin.

"You're the 'great and powerful Trixie', am I right?"

The mention of her not so truthful title made her frown in remembrance, which he didn't expect. If anything, she was supposed to be boasting and putting on a show by now.

"Just... just Trixie is fine." She assured him, still with that proud, confident tone, though kind of insecurely, like she didn't believe her own words. This time, Discord smiled in amusement.

"That's this? No bragging on about what a powerful magician you are? No display of your colorful little powers and tricks? No story of the Ursa Major banishment?"

With every question, Trixie's face turned a bit more red.

"I see you're informed of my life story as well as I am informed of yours." Trixie said. "Thank goodness mine isn't all over the newspaper, though; having been publicly ashamed in only one town is quite too much."

"So what are you doing here, then; came back for some more?" Discord taunted, giving her a hearty mocking laughter. Trixie glared at him.

"I am just passing through, Spirit. Though, I could ask the same; seeing as you so successfully 'escaped' the grasp of Twilight Sparkle, what are you up to? Surely, your powers are still under control. Otherwise, everything would already be upside down; even Trixie's magical ability." She bitterly noticed.

Discord cocked an eyebrow and playfully elbowed her.

"Now, now, come on dear; surely your magical powers amount up to some level you can be proud of." He assured playfully. But the mare shook her head.

"Not really." Trixie admitted. She sighed. "Ever since the run in with Twilight Sparkle, I've been thinking. Magic must not be my thing. Some Unicorn I turned out to be."

"Oh you ponies, always jumping to conclusions!" Discord rolled his eyes. "How does the fact you're a Unicorn have anything to do with your magic? As far as you're concerned, you could get into petriculture!"

"But such a job befitts an Earth pony; not Unicorns, the elegant, aristocratic descendants of elite society, Royalty even!

"With such an attitude, you won't go far in life." Discord said wisely. "You should do what you want; not something everypony else tells you to be. Don't bend to the rules of society - you can take that advice from the old chaos loving creature as I am with no doubts about it." Discord chuckled.

Trixie blinked a few times before replying sarcastically: "Great words coming from someone like you, really!"

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Discord asked, a bit more coldly this time. Trixie sneered as she seemingly hit the weak spot.

"You're a creature of mismatched proportions and a rare species at that; your kind is associated with mystery danger and even evil in more than a single story or legend."

"Why, you're making me blush." Discord feigned embarrassment. Trixie ignored the remark as she continued.

"And you seem to have been the perfect description of those things during your first break out - even the Princesses don't seem to know much of you or your powers. You can only be stopped by the Elements of Harmony and your troublesome antics are already being retold in some newer books.

"Are we getting somewhere with this, or are you just trying to get on my good side?" Discord playfully asked.

"Yet," Trixie suddenly said, "if it were to judge by my sources, as well as the newspapers articles, you are much more of a darling creature then you let us know." She smiled a bit mockingly.

The word '[i]darling[/i]' had a specifically unpleasant ring to the draconequues. He frowned, both confused and a bit upset anyone would think of him as such.

"I am not a 'darling' creature." He spat. "If you really wish for a proof, I can easily provide one." His eagle talons lightened up with magical light to make a point, but he didn't do anything - not yet, at least.

"And that's exactly my point." Trixie exclaimed, pointing at his hand, still engulfed in light. "Your incredible power provides us with many faces, Spirit. With great power come limitless possibilities; both to create and change things around you... and to change yourself.

Her words made the Spirit fall silent, the magical light slowly going away.

"I may not know your initial reasons for the mayhem you love to cause so much... but the facts stand firm; without your powers, you're no different than a playful little filly who likes to pull pra-"

Trixie's voice was lost in her surprised yelp as Discord lifted her in the air by her tail. Anger was seeping from his eyes.

"Do I look like a playful filly right now?" He growled, venom in his words. Trixie gulped a bit nervously.

"A very [i]strong[/i] playful filly." She corrected, still allowing herself a charming smile. Discord let her fall painfully to the ground. After a few moments of silence, during which he spitefully watched her trying to get the dirt out of her cloak, he spoke.

"Just when did you become such a wise-cracker?"

Trixie didn't respond right away. Her head hung down; she seemed to be embarrassed. Finally, she lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

"I guess I might as well confide in the likes of me."

[i]Likes of her?[/i] Discord wondered.

"You see, Spirit, I was once much like you - despite our many, many obvious differences, you and I share a rather similar story; however vastly different it may appear at first." She pause, expecting him to start laughing at her and count numerous reasons just why is he superior to her, a mere pony. However, when he remained silent, she continued.

"I wasn't merely a crook or a scheming mare wanting attention; I was convinced I was all powerful and I wished to be... well... acknowledged. I was convinced that my magic could measure up to the ability of Alicorns themselves. My dreams simply struck me too hard, and I allowed myself to live in a lie I created. The rest is history," she chuckled dryly, "Twilight Sparkle's actions were like a slap to the face. It hurt for a while, and nothing but revenge was on my mind... but, in the end, it helped me recollect my thoughts. I'd say her actions changed something inside of that old, chaotic draconequues heart of yours, too; at least judging by the fact you have yet to use your chaotic powers on me."

Discord opened his mouth, probably wanting to retort or think of a clever comeback, but he found himself without an idea. For goodness's sake, since when was the mare so insightful!

"It's alright," Trixie teased patronizingly; her tone, however, was sincere, "I know it feels quite shocking to find out something's changed from somepony else. I guess I'll leave you alone. I have much business to attend to, anyway. Spells aren't going to learn themselves." With those words and with a nod of her head, Trixie left the draconequues alone, though not before he one last time shouted out for her; his voice sounded almost desperate.

"But... what are you going to do now then? What should [i]I[/i] do?"

He was fairly obviously in dire need of an answer. Trixie may not have known what exactly had bothered the Spirit, but she had a feeling he needed this answer badly. He heard her chuckle.

"Whatever I want, Spirit." Trixie exclaimed back, never turning around as she disappeared behind the trees. "Whatever I truly want."

* * *

><p>Night had fallen.<p>

Twilight Sparkle was in her library, on the balcony, staring off into the same spot in the distance the Spirit had disappeared in yesterday. She was thinking. Wondering where he was.

Discord was hiding out in some wilderness he didn't recognize. He wandered off and felt at ease when he reached an unknown area of thick trees and tall grass. Being away from familiarity felt more comforting than he thought it would. He was thinking. Wondering what was Twilight Sparkle up to at that moment.

[i]I wonder where he is. Did he escape for good? Did he decided to return to his old ways? There was no news about anything strange happening... Oh, Discord, where are you? What are you doing?

She probably thinks I'm my old self again. Oh, how I miss my old self. Not a worry in the world. Well... almost. Being chased around by every magically capable pony in Equestria isn't really fun. Twilight Sparkle really [i]did[/i] show me a good time, in fact. Being a 'regular pony' isn't half as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it was pretty amazing.

Would he ever know how scared I was? Could I ever explain to him how it felt to keep such a secret hidden?

But would she ever understand my chaotic needs? Could I ever use them for anything good? Could I ever live free and unconcerned with such an incredible power just a click of the fingers away?

If he comes back... if he comes back, I swear I'll do my best to... to... oh, I don't even know what I would do anymore. To be the best friend I can be? To offer him support and understanding? Gah, if he could see what I was thinking now, he'd laugh in my face and call me cheesy! Heh. That would be fun. I miss that silly draconequues.

Goodness, I almost allowed myself to get cheesy! Haha! When was the last time I got cheesy before I met that mare? I cannot recall. She'd probably break her mind over trying to help me remember, though. I miss that silly little unicorn.

I wish I had a bit more time... just a bit more time to say I'm sorry...

I should've asked her for assistance.

I wish I could tell him how much he means to me.

I wish I didn't feel so weird...

In the end, I guess I really, really started to...

Seriously though, I feel awfully wei- hey, what the-?[/i]

The branch Discord was lying atop of was suddenly empty, the draconequues unwillingly disappearing with a silent 'pop'.

Back in Ponyville, in a certain library, Twilight Sparkle barely had any time to wonder why did her body feel tingly before she disappeared into the air with the similar sound effect.

The library was silent. As well as the forest Discord resided in moments ago. Nopony knew the two had, for the time being, disappeared from the world. And nopony knew of the struggles the mare and the draconequues were about to go through.


	24. Friendship is Magic

"..."

"... Well, well, well. We meet again, Twilight Sparkle."

"... Uh ... Discord?"

"I can't believe you still have the audacity to ride on my back, after what you had done."

"Discord."

"And sure, it is fairly obvious you didn't come here by free will, but if you had a shred of manners left-"

"Discord, would you please listen to me?"

"Yes, Twilight, my dearest betrayer?"

"... Right, um... where in the Equestria are we?"

"Funny you should mention it because, I've a feeling we're not in Equestria anymore."

"You know perfectly well that is not what I meant."

"Well either way, our current situation, seeing as only the two of us are here, is rather awkward and, for at least one of us, quite shameful, don't you agree?"

"I could care less about that now! We'll deal with social awkwardness and issues later, we first need to get out of... whatever this place is! You did this, didn't you! Why did you bring me here, anyway?"

"Hold your horses, or should I say ponies, dear. I haven't done a thing; I was brought here against my will as well. At least, I think so. In one moment, my body felt ticklish and 'poof'! I found myself here, with you enjoying a ride on my back. Seriously - manners. You lack them."

"Well, it's the same for me, I just kind of... um, 'poofed'. Do you have any idea about this place?"

"Well, it does look rather unusual and yet so very familiar at the same time."

"That's the best description you can find? This place looks like some sort of realm only you could create."

"I think I already told you, a while ago as well, that I can't turn ground and sky upside down. Though I must admit, whoever or whatever did this, deserves at least a nice bouquet of flowers."

"Discord..."

"Oh fine, fine. Let's look around a bit, shall we?"

The world the two had found themselves in was indeed literally turned around. High, high above them, right after the sea of fluffy clouds, they could make out the unlimited amount of solid ground, with trees, river and flowers, even an occasional house or two. No matter how hard they tried to reach it though, it seemed eternally distant.

Underneath them was the sky. The sky acted entirely unnaturally as a solid land. The moment Twilight tried to put a hoof down on the apparently invisible, airy surface that now acted as ground, it would crumble and then grow up again, or disappear completely - it was highly unstable and constantly changing; nopony's short legs, or any legs whatsoever were made for walking on such a surface.

Clouds were floating by them, only a hoof or two away. Occasionally, they would encounter a chunk of land floating around as well, the kind the pair could thankfully stand on - but all of them were either too small or held nothing of interest. There was, however, a huge cloud that took up literally half of the sky in front of them. Not wanting to get lost in its misty depths, Discord didn't go right through it.

"Well this is boring." The Spirit finally noticed after they kept rounding the cloud like a race track for about good ten minutes, with no end in sight - the cloud was simply huge. "I mean sure, it is wonderfully weird and totally and absolutely amazingly done, but I had hoped to reach the Land of Upside Down through my own magic one day." He pointed upwards. "Though, looking down at the sky and up at the ground does induce a rather weird, nauseating feeling, don't you think?"

"[i]No way[/i] I'm looking down for more than a second." Twilight deadpanned. They were silent for a couple of moments.

"Hey, Discord?"

"Hmm?"

"Look, I... about what happened..." She was cut in the middle of the sentence.

"It's alright." The Spirit assured. Even though he seemed really honest about it, she decided he was wrong - only a few minutes ago, he had been calling her a betrayer.

"No it is [i]not[/i] alright." She protested. She could hear Discord sigh.

"Well of course it isn't, Twilight Sparkle, but still, in a way, it is."

"Uh..."

"I am not - well, not entirely - angry with you anymore, you knucklehead. Goodness, do I need to spell it out to you?"

"You... you're not?"

"No, I'm just... look, we'll discuss this when we get out of here." Discord finally told her, this time turning his head to give her a short, sincere smile. There was something in it that helped Twilight's sorrowful mood she was in for the past day. Suddenly she felt that the good old draconequues she knew and loved was back, if even a little piece of him.

"OK." She simply said. Both of them already felt a bit better from just that one, small conversation. Twilight opened her mouth again, not sure what she wanted to say, when she suddenly heard him say:

"Ah-ha! I spy with my little eye~"

She could help but chuckle, despite rolling her eyes. "Not the time for games, Discord."

"Something that begins with 'L'!"

"Oh, for the love of-"

"Wrong! It isn't 'love', it's 'land'!"

"What?"

Somehow, Discord managed to suddenly round the huge cloud that blocked their path so much and in the distance, Twilight could clearly see a large, wide piece of land, as wide as the cloud they just rounded was...

"Discord, look! The cloud!"

"Mm?" The draconequues lazily looked over at the giant cloud and as just as surprised when he saw it rapidly dispersing.

"What do you think caused that?"

"...I have a feeling we'll find our answer on land." Discord said, obviously not telling the entire truth of the matter. Twilight let it go, for now.

"Land ahoy, Captain!" Discord laughed before zooming as fast as he could towards it. Twilight held onto him for dear life. It took them no longer than a minute to get there.

"Well, I'll be-" Discord observed the land in surprise. Once she got off his back and finally met the firm ground, Twilight could see why.

This piece of land, very illogically but thankfully, had its own normal sky - Twilight was getting seriously dizzy from the previous setup.

They found themselves in a peculiar land that Pinkie Pie would definitely move into if she could - the trees were coated in sugar and made of what seemed to be jelly; flowers were literally replaced by lollipops and their petals by candy. Grass seemed the same as always, but was extremely soft, almost like it was fake - and, Twilight noticed with surprise, it let out random noises when stepped on. Each step she took would mean a different noise, such as a balloon popping, or horn honking, or a weird 'squee' most likely produced by a toy or a clown's nose. A single path that led through the party engulfed land was made of chocolate. All in all, as fun and tasty as it looked, it definitely didn't suit Twilight, who quickly hopped onto the Spirit's back once again after the last step of her hoof produced a flatulent noise.

"What IS this place?" Twilight's voice was filled with both disapproval and amazement. As Discord continued to float down the path, they could make out a small house in the distance - upon approaching it, they realized two things - one, there was not a living soul in there and two, the house was made entirely of cakes and candy.

"This place almost screams of Pinkie Pie." She finally spoke. "I wonder if she had anything to do with- Oh no way, Pinkie can't even do magic. But this place is just so... her."

The Spirit was silent, but his face was giving away something else. Something that almost looked like shock.

"Discord? Are you alright?" Her genuinely concerned voice made him snap out of it.

"I... I have to check something out. We do, in fact." Twilight had only a millisecond to take a better look of the candy house as they zoomed right past it. They passed through several large tables that seemed to be set up for an upcoming party, with plates and drinks already prepared - there were even decorations on the sugary trees and balloons stuck to the ground.

It would appear that the land Twilight affectionately dubbed 'Pinkieland' ended very abruptly with a thick, extremely high forest of sugar-coated trees that at some point turned into normal looking, tall oaks. Not wanting to miss anything, the Spirit decided to fly through it, instead of flying over it. On the way the encountered several small clearances with various different looking houses and cottages, but nothing caught their interest too much - except for one house with a bigger yard that had been literally round and entirely painted in blue, with numerous bubbles drawn on it. It had weird, round flowers growing in the yard, but Discord didn't stop for them to have a better look.

Discord halted soon after - once they got out of a forest a huge meadow upon which the Sun was shining appeared before them. It was covered in the greenest, most lush grass Twilight had ever stepped her hoof on, filled with the most colorful and wonderful flowers Twilight had ever seen - the meadow's most noticeable feature was its animals. Or to be more specific, the variety and number of them. Bunnies, squirrels, butterflies, ducks, every possible critter, countless of different bugs, the wonderful singing of thousands of different birds hidden in the shade of nearby trees and bushes, or flying in flocks over the half cloudy sky... It all reminded Twilight heavily of Fluttershy.

"Oh, dear." The Spirit let out a sound as if he just realized something.

"What is it?" Twilight turned to face him. He was fidgeting.

"Um... well, I am, kind of, sort of, the one to blame for us appearing here.

Twilight immediately frowned and Discord couldn't help but to laugh at it.

"But you said you had nothing to-"

"Indeed; not willingly, was what I said." Discord grinned sheepishly. "You could say that my... personal conflicts brought us here."

"Discord, what in the world-"

"We're dealing with my... oh what should I call it... well, myself, Twilight Sparkle."

"Yourse- what?"

Discord cleared his throat for a dramatic effect. "You see, doesn't this meadow remind you of somepony?"

Twilight frowned, at this point wondering if he just read her thoughts.

"Of... of Fluttershy." She replied and the Spirit clapped his hands.

"Exactly! And- oh goodness, just look up there! Who does THAT remind you of?" He suddenly looked up, his talon pointing to something. Twilight followed his motion. Somewhere up in the sky, not too high and clearly visible, was a sky city very similar to Cloudsdale - only it was bigger and its shape was much more... edgy. From what they could see, still being on the ground, it had extremely high cliffs, countless of dangerous looking mountain peaks and several big slopes; as well as numerous cloudy rings all around it. It looked almost like some sort of training ground.

"That's where Rainbow Dash resides!" Discord exclaimed in excitement. Twilight felt completely lost.

"I'm sorry, but I still have no idea what you're talking about."

Discord sighed, exasperated. "Have you never studied a pony's... consciousness and psychology and such?"

"Well, not to details like this, no I haven't, Mister." Twilight noticed. "This looks solely like a work of magic."

"And it is, it is." Discord confirmed, floating around and observing. "It is a very powerful, very rare and very hard branch of magic. I myself wasn't aware I had it in me."

"Speaking of which... Discord, do you know why you gained your powers back?"

Discord was silent for a moment or two, seemingly in thought.

"I can't say for sure, Twilight Sparkle." He started. "But from what I know of our species and our rather awesome magical ability, it seems that I sort of... relearned it." He shrugged playfully.

"But how is that possible?" Twilight continued to wonder. "Nopony can master magic that fa-"

"Exactly, Twilight. No PONY. That's another thing you can put into your precious draconequues research. Aside from being undeniably handsome and charming, we're also a species of many... geniuses. Yes, I believe that's the appropriate title." He snickered satisfyingly, prompting Twilight to roll her eyes. "A small fraction of magical ability Celestia gave me was just enough. Ever since, all the wishing to do greater magical deeds, all the growing, suppressed power I had in me started to leak through... until it quite literally leaked, according to your sketches." He chuckled good naturedly.

"I guess even Princess Celestia doesn't know much about the draconequues, huh." Twilight dared to admit her beloved mentor had a 'flaw'.

"Not even Celestia, my dear." Discord confirmed. Twilight was silent for a while, simply rethinking his answer and pretty much being surprised by the simplicity of it. As they crossed the colorful meadow, she realized he still hasn't explained his theory on "dealing with himself", so she opened her mouth to ask and right in that moment, she tripped and landed nuzzle first into the dusty ground. Wait... dusty?

"This must be the territory of Miss Applejack." She heard him say. And really, once Discord lifted her from the dusty ground, she realized she was on the edge of a valley - valley filled with most beautiful, mature apple trees she had ever seen. Its fruits were clearly visible even from the distance, bigger and redder than most apples Twilight had seen in Applejack's orchard. Behind the trees was a rather large, even fancy looking farmhouse, as well as a firm, tall water tower. It looked pretty much like what Applejack dreamed of having one day, Twilight figured, once the products of the Apple family reach a higher level of fame - it looked firm, safe and like a proper home for such a big family as hers.

And so little thinking cogs started to turn in Twilight's head. The Rainbow Dash's 'home'? The 'territory' of Applejack? Two pieces of land that so undeniably looked like perfect homes to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Even the house of bubbles that, although Twilight didn't say anything about it, seemed to scream "Derpy Hooves".

Twilight gasped as the realization hit her. That huge cloud... it moved the moment they finally spoke to each other, the moment they finally achieved some sort of temporary but honest truce. Everything in here changed and shaped itself according to him and the way he felt. What he felt.

"We are inside of your hear-"

"Don't. Get. Cheesy on me; for the love of Chaos and everything that is Harmonic, don't." Discord facepalmed. "Besides, you're not. Not literally, anyway. Hearts pump blood, you should know that. Let's just assume we're in my mind, because technically, we really are."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, fine. Still, that's quite sweet, you know."

"What is?" Discord frowned, feeling quite vulnerable at this point.

"Well... the level of care you have for your friends, I suppose." She spread her hooves to point out the giant dream-home Applejack seemingly deserved in Discord's opinion.

He growled. "You just had to go and say it, huh."

"I like being blunt sometimes." Twilight beamed. "But... how did we get here in the first place? And I mean, I could understand how you did, but what about me?"

"I... I don't know." The ignorance seemed to be one of the thing Discord despised as he practically snarled. "I think we'll just have to continue and see where the path takes us. The answer is definitely around here somewhere."

The two continued to travel through the Applejack's valley until reaching, a batch of thick and dark trees that stood as a kind of a border between it and another piece of land. Soon after, they found themselves a small, fancy town Twilight immediately knew was Rarity's land. Here, the Sun was eternally setting and offered a romantic view. There were several places that were obviously made primarily for the purpose of a date - restaurants, a theater and cinema, dancing hall and a few other buildings, many of them shops with fancy clothing. Near the very end of the land was Carousel Boutique, looking bigger and a bit more extravagant.

"I don't need to guess who is this space meant for." Twilight snickered. Behind her, the Spirit let out a tired sigh, almost like this tour of his personal thoughts and feelings wasn't as fun as Twilight deemed it to be.

"Oh, oh! Where is mine?" Twilight excitedly asked, resembling a small filly about to receive their Christmas present. At this point, Discord already looked angry.

"Mind your own beeswax!" He snapped; but his bad mood couldn't take off the curious smile of the mare's face.

"I'm gonna find it~" She sing songed as she pranced towards the cherry trees of rose petals that swayed in the breeze in the edge of Rarity's 'land'.

Discord had little choice but to follow her. On their way, the trees got significantly different and a weak mist gathered at the ground, which was the first sign they were entering another area. Twilight suddenly gasped so loudly in her excitement, that the draconequus almost jerked.

"These are willows!" Twilight whispered mesmerized. Discord arched an eyebrow.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack over trees?"

Twilight's eyes almost popped out as she stared at him. "Willows are so magical! Great and soft, swaying in the wind... I adore them!" She claimed. For her it was a definitive sign that they were getting closer to area Discord had dedicated to her.

Twilight hardly thought of it as unpredictable when the Spirit suddenly stopped her.

"Do you really HAVE to see it?" He questioned, annoyance in her voice. Twilight merely put out a tongue at him, feeling playful, and continued on. Discord sighed in defeat.

But the further they went, the more noticeable and thicker the mist started to become. Twilight tried to use her magic to chase it away, only to realize in utter horror that her magic wouldn't listen to her - whether it was the area that prevented her from using magic, or was it that specific spell that simply malfunctioned, she couldn't tell. Discord seemed satisfied with this progress of the situation.

"Oh, you're so mean." Twilight bitterly concluded once she realized they were out of the forest - but the fog was by then so thick they couldn't see more then a meter away from their noses.

"What? It's not like I'm doing this on purpose."

"Oh you totally are! After all, you are in control here! We're technically inside of your mind, or something!"

"Well, do tell me then," the Spirit started impatiently, "were you ever fully in control of what and how you feel?"

"I am- well, no, but- Well, I crave to be!" She finally stammered out before turning away from him and heading into the fog. The Spirit chuckled and followed her closely.

"Slow down dear, you don't want to get lost."

"I can easily call for you."

"True, but my mind is a scary place sometimes." She heard him say, half jokingly and half trying to sounds creepy. While he utterly failed at that, the thought of being lost in a Chaotic mind was a bit unsettling.

"Oof!" Twilight suddenly hit something, like a wall or fence. It took her a few moment to make out a big tree and a few more moments to realize it was her library. To her surprise, this was the first house they encountered that had its lights on, as she could make out through the glassed windows.

"Oh, finally, a familiar place!" Twilight gasped - to her disappointment and surprise, though, the door was closed, windows too. Her magic couldn't open them, and Discord unsuccessfully tried to transport them inside.

"We can not enter." He noticed, earning a glare from Twilight.

"Well thank you, Monsieur Obvious."

"Which means the solution to our problem is inside."

"... that at the same time makes sense and yet, we don't really have any logical proof to support such a statement."

"Well, seeing as it is my mind we're residing in..." He smiled.

"Point taken." Twilight chuckled. "How do we get in?"

"Well, certainly not by magic." Another obvious point.

"Discord, don't you think it is obvious that YOU should open it... as you said, it's your mind."

"What do you propose?"

"Well, I do think this fog is to blame for all of it." Twilight admitted, and Discord rolled his eyes.

"This again? What does that have to do with-"

"Ask that yourself, not me. You should know answer better than me. It's your silly head, after all."

Discord and Twilight eyed each other intensely as he tried to count the choices he had. Once he realized he didn't have any other, he whined like a filly.

"But I don't wanna~~~!"

Twilight laughed out loudly. "Discord, you don't have to be shy!"

"I AM NOT SHY!" He almost roared angrily; at that moment, for the first time ever, Twilight had the honor to see a barely noticeable crimson color on his face.

"I know you're not." She squeaked; the effort she put into not laughing at the flushed draconequus made her whole jaw ache and brought a whole new level of pain to her ribs. "But still, we have to enter somehow."

"Oh, fine, fine, for goodness sake-!" Discord took a deep breath to calm himself down, his eyes closing for a minute. Then, though very reluctantly and with a short pause, he clicked his fingers. To Twilight's surprise, it worked, as the fog started to slowly disappear.

"How come that kind of magic worked?" Twilight questioned.

"I guess sometimes actions speak louder than words." Discord said tiredly as the world before them rapidly unraveled. Once the sky became visible, Twilight gasped.

Unlike others, this piece of land was engulfed in night. A huge full moon provided more than enough light for everything to be visible. As the mist retreated, the trees emerged in the dark, gorgeous and almost literally sad looking willows, swaying in the light, gently breeze. There was a sparkling river nearby, dark and deep, reflecting the moon.

The most noticeable feature though, once the fog was gone, was definitely the sky; aside from the Moon, it contained not only numerous stars and constellations, but also big, colorful nebulae, far away dots of color that Twilight instantly recognized as other planets or bigger stars. It was like the whole beauty of the universe tried to fit into that one part of sky.

Twilight's jaw dropped as she gazed up. Instantly, she thought of all the researches she could do, if she only had her telescope and maybe a piece of parchment. As if somepony heard her thoughts, she suddenly noticed a small building in the distance - her keen eye instantly recognized it as an observatory.

"Discord, this is... this is magnificent." She simply couldn't help but notice it - well, it was impossible not to - this piece of land was at least double the size of other areas.

"Oh, shush." Discord waved his paw dismissively. "Let's just get this over with, or at least try to."

Upon a second try, the door opened. Discord ducked to enter through the tiny door, with the mare following him closely, still fascinated by the vast world of night Discord 'created' for her.

The moment they stepped in, the door slammed behind them. All the lights in the library vanished, the candles being blown out by a sudden, eerie wind that had no plausible source, as the windows were still closed. Twilight felt something old and familiar in that wind, something that shook her to the bone and that made her skin crawl. She found herself being scared.

"Discord." She whispered, not sure what exactly she wanted from him, or why did she call for him in the first place. The draconequus, though, didn't seem at all shaken and maybe even indifferent.

"Hmm?" He lazily replied, trying to get the candles to burn once again - and once again, his magic betrayed him.

"Discord, somepony is in here." Twilight knew it. That cursed, horrible wind marked the presence of somepony, somepony she met a while ago. Somepony who put that same fear she felt right now into her heart... only now, it felt so much worse.

"What are you talking about?" The Spirit chuckled. "There is nopo-"

"Can't you feel it?" Twilight cut him with a whisper - Discord frowned as he recognized the tone of fright her voice held. "That wind and that... that presence?"

"...no?" Discord simply stared at her, at the loss for words. If anything, he felt pretty good. In fact, for whatever reason, he felt so happy and jolly... and he couldn't say why, but he felt rather nostalgic of something at that moment. Like he was about to meet an old friend. "In fact, I feel brilliant!"

"...Oh... Oh sweet Celestia, no!" Twilight suddenly backed away, staring into the darkness of the library as if somepony was about to jump out at any minute.

"Now what has gotten into you, Twilight Sparkle?" Discord was tremendously confused by now.

"D-Discord... remember how you told me that we're here because... y-you have personal conflicts?"

"Of course I do."

"Well maybe," Twilight gulped, "maybe those, err... conflicts have manifested themselves in a... sort of a, um, 'living'... form?"

For a moment or two, they were silent. Both of them jumped when they suddenly heard slow, slow clapping.

"Bravo, bravo, Twilight Sparkle." A cold voice, incredibly similar, to Discord's, yet so much more sinister, spoke. "Once again, Celestia's little protegé did it.

Twilight did her best to silence a yelp and Discord stood next to her in what she could only define as an absolute shock. Down the stairs the being descended; one by one, candles regained their flame with each step the creature took.

To describe it as a more weird and sinister looking version of the draconequus was an understatement. The creature before them had dark, shining red eyes that had no place for any kindness, friendly disposition or even the ever chaotic playfulness. Its body was long, but its grace was lost - literally bent in a few places, like a badly folded piece of paper and skinny, famished. Its horns were crooked to funny angles and its sharp, crooked teeth were barred into a perfectly scary grin even the bravest pony couldn't look at without losing their cool.

Discord stared at this terrifying creature and realized it was the part of him he missed most of all. It was his magic. His chaotic, trouble bringing, cruel self. It was Discord bare of any personality he ever had, nothing but his body and Chaos in one. The fact It bore such a terrifying form unsettled him. The fact that a part of him was like that... he wasn't sure if he could accept it.

"Dissscord." It hissed. "What a pleasure it is to find you here. It was about time you visit me."

"You have to settle this now, Discord." Twilight started silently. "If you don't, you might lose control over this monster."

"Monster?" It chuckled darkly - Its laughter sent shivers down her spine. "Are you calling your friend a monster? The Power of Friendship sure has downgraded." Another chuckle. "But you are right, Twilight Sparkle. Your precious little 'test subject' has a job to do. So why don't you go and... play for a little while the grown ups do the talking?"

"I am not going any-" Twilight started, determined to stick to Discord despite the terrible fear that ate her insides. But It cut her off.

"Oh, that's what you think." It snapped its sharp, bony talons. Twilight suddenly disappeared and for the first time, Discord showed some emotion - in this case, utter rage. He snarled and was ready to launch at It.

"What in Tartarus-"

"Don't worry, my little draconequus." It spoke. "Your precious little friend is merely dealing with some problems of her own right now. In the meantime," it grinned, "let's talk."

Discord eyed It suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

"Come now, you missed me for so long. No embrace? No greeting? You've changed so much, Discord." It continued, now circling him slightly. "What happened to the good old days, hmm?"

Discord was in the middle of processing the fact he was talking to himself. How was he supposed to approach this problem? He couldn't destroy a part of himself, that simply didn't make sense.

"And I could even help you, if you only let me; we could do so much more, Discord. We could bring so much more... pain."

Well, that was new. He was fairly sure he didn't want to do that since the time he was a teen. Why bring it up?"

"All the power, Discord."

Ah, right. It was the sweet, sweet taste of utter control over everything and everypony.

"All you have to do is let me... take over for just a little bit..."

Why was it that power suddenly didn't matter? Was it seriously the fact he had friends?

"With your magical ability and my Chaos, there's no pony that can stop us."

Well, it was. Back then, he sincerely had no one. He never got any respect merely for the fact he was different. For the fact he liked to spice things up. For the fact he was the embodiment of Chaos.

What was wrong with a little Chaos? Eternal question that bothered him since the day he first got punished for his strange magical preferences. Staring at the creature before him, he realized he had found his answer.

The creature layed one of his bony hands on his shoulder.

"Let me in, Disco-"

"Oh, would you shut your oversized trap already?" Discord suddenly swat its hand away. The creature stared, his eyes holding no emotion, but surprise all over its face as Discord produced a mischievous smile. He flew up in the air, relaxing completely, the playfulness returning to his eyes. "If I have to listen to your booooring speech for another second, I'm seriously going to have to do something about it, and judging by your much too dark and serious personality, I suppose you don't like chocolate milk nor cotton candy." He chuckled. The creature gave him that sinister look one last time before grinning maliciously.

"So... that's how it is going to be, my little draconequus?"

"I am no draconequus of yours." Discord mocked. "And yes, that is how it's going to be. Now be a good boy and settle down - talking to a part of me is entirely too cheesy and, I must admit, rather boring. Even I have my bad days, I suppose."

The creature snarled.

"If you're not going to go down the nice way-"

"Bring it on, Mr-I-can't-afford-dental-care." Discord challenged with a good natured chuckle. For a few second, tension was in the air. Then they both launched at each other.

* * *

><p>"Discord? Discord, help! Where are you? Anypony?" Twilight wandered. Where she was, she couldn't tell - she literally couldn't because around her, above her and below her was nothing but black nothingness. It wasn't even dark, as she could see her own hooves perfectly well, but there was no source of light, no ground no sky, no air... no nothing.<p>

She walked on, not sure if she was going to find anything that way.

"Twilight? What is she doing here?"

Pinkie? And for real, a mare of bouncy pink mane was sitting comfortably on the floor, her hoover crossed before her as she observed her friend. Twilight couldn't tell whom was the question directed to, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"Pinkie Pie! Oh goodness, how nice it is to see you again, even if it isn't for real!"

"Oh it is nice, isn't it?" Pinkie replied snobbishly.

"Oh... hey there, Meanie Pie." Twilight bitterly noticed.

"What do you mean, Meanie Pie?" Pinkie laughed an obnoxious laughter that certainly wasn't hers. "I'm your good ol' friend Pinkie! Always ready for a laugh!"

"Uh, right... so, what are you doing here, um, Pinkie?"

"What am I doing here? The better question is, what are YOU doing here, Twilight?" Pinkie noticed. "You should be helping your boyfriend over there."

"Wha- Discord is not my-"

"Awww, she's blushing, shes blushing!" Pinkie once again laughed obnoxiously - from everywhere around her, faceless ponies popped out, laughing that same, disgustingly fake laughter. Twilight felt a lump in her throat.

"Pinkie, what's wrong with you?"

"What is it, Twilight? I thought you were up for a good laugh. I know I always am! So tell me, when do you plan telling that lizard about your stupid little crush?"

"It's not stu- I mean-"

"Haaa, I knew it!" Another round of mocking laughter.

"Don't mock me! Stop it, Pinkie, just-"

Everypony pointed at her. Twilight slowly started to lose her head, suddenly not being sure what part of this all was a reality and was was the work of magic. She desperately tried to tell herself it was the latter, but that sickening laughter... it got to her too much...

"By the way Twilight, how is that book going? You know, the one you always mention you're writing about us and all the things that we did, as friends?"

At that point, even though stressed and disturbed by the current situation, Twilight had to frown, having no idea what the fake Pinkie Pie was talking about.

"What are you talking about, Pinkie? I mean, you know I love books, but, I never wrote a thing myself..."

"Twilight Sparkle, how dare ya to lie to yer friends like that!" Applejack appeared from the darkness. Her face was that of a stern parent. "And we were lookin' forward to your stories so much... yer a disappointment!"

"No, no I swear, I never wrote such thing!" Twilight had completely forgotten about the fact anypony around her weren't in fact her real friends.

"Oh, she didn't lie completely, alright." Rainbow Dash appeared in the air with the book Twilight never saw in her entire life. Across its cover was her face alone with a smug grin she didn't know was capable of producing; it was titled "Adventures of Great and Powerful Twilight Sparkle".

"Like, she completely gave every single credit to herself. That's so twisted, Twi. I thought we were friends."

"What are you- if I ever write such a book, I swear I'll-"

"Oh goodness, talk about greediness!" Rarity appeared in her fancy robe, carrying a copy of the supposedly written book. "Look at the price of that thing! I say Twilight dear, I know you need your money, but if anything, you could've at least kept the cost at a small fortune!"

"I could never overprice books, you know that well!" Twilight yelled out. "I even forgive anypony who returns the book late, because they probably can't help it and-"

"To think our dear friend Twilight," Fluttershy started, appearing behind her; she, of all things, didn't seem angry or bitter, but disappointed, "would do such a thing to both her friends and to the books she supposedly respects and loves... I thought you were a better pony than that, Twilight. I guess I was wrong."

Twilight was at that point openly crying.

"Hahaha - look at her, acting like a crybaby! What's the matter, Twilight? Elements of Harmony got your tongue?"

"No... no, I..."

"Why don't you just admit it Twilight... you're not fit to be an Element." Rainbow Dash said it like it was something she finally got out into the open. "You need something... different."

"Wha... what do you mean?" Twilight barely managed through numerous sniffs.

"Well, you're a dishonest, selfish and egocentric pony, Twilight." Pinkie Pie started, nuzzling her as she spoke. "Trust me, you can take it from your friends. But you know what? You deserve to be. One of the most powerful Unicorns to have ever lived, the very Element of Magic itself, schooled and tutored by Celestia... You're brilliant, Twilight. You're like a star."

"A... a star?"

"Definitely, my dearest, bestest friend! And so you know what? We had an idea! You could do a great service to the Chaos."

Twilight was silent. "... Me?" She finally gasped.

"Oh, definitely, Twilight." Fluttershy approached her, gently nuzzling her as well, to offer her comfort. "I've never seen anyone as powerful as you are, Twilight. The very display of your power sometimes scares me."

"True, true." Applejack threw in. "Yer powers are your biggest asset, Twi. You shouldn't let it go to waste."

"All you have to do to gain Chaos' guiding, powerful hand," Rarity appeared before her, "is to honestly answer: do you accept Chaos as your guide?

"Ho-honestly?"

"Why, naturally. Whoever saw a deal being made by lying?" Rarity sneered. Ponies around her chuckled. "Of course, you being such a dishonest mare in the first place, it can be hard; but we know you can do it; you're not the most powerful Unicorn for no reason. You definitely can be honest just this one time. For yourself. For us. For Chaos."

"Come on, Twilight." Applejack nudged her. "Say yes."

"Say it Twilight... please."

"For everypony."

"For the good of Equestria."

"For Chaos."

"Say it for Discord, Twilight. Spare him of your awful self. Maybe once you change, he'll come to like you as well. I most certainly am sure he will!"

Discord.

"Are you guys stupid?" Twilight suddenly felt very refreshed and collected. The Spawns of Chaos around her retreated in surprise.

"That wasn't very nice, Twi-"

"Oh, shush!" Twilight interrupted Fluttershy. "For ponies spawned by that awful... 'thing', I'd thought It could've planned something better. Sure, you were doing just fine at driving me completely depressed and very likely emotionally scarred, but whoever seriously thought I might even for a moment wish for even a fraction of that thing's power must be stupid."

Her words were echoing stronger and stronger in the darkness; she was so much into it she failed to notice ponies around her disappear slowly.

"I am an Element of Harmony - but I by myself mean nothing as an Element, OR as a regular pony, without my very best friends. And that happens to include that "lizard" Pinkie!" Pinkie gasped, and disappeared into the nothingness, with Rainbow Dash following closely.

"I refuse to be fooled like this! Return me to my friend! Return me to Discord this instant, and I just MIGHT decide not to kick your flank!" The last words were shouted, and the rest of the ponies disappeared completely, darkness fell onto her and she was spinning. She closed her eyes firmly, not knowing what was going on...

And then she landed into something.

"Ah, just the one pony I had to see!"

Twilight opened her eyes. Whatever caused it, the laws of probability wanted her to land into Discord's arms. He was smiling so widely. She hadn't seen that wide smile in a while. It was Adorable.

"Discord!" She threw her hooves around him, holding onto him like never before, at that moment, still excited, deciding never to let go of him again. To her surprise, he returned the hug just as firmly. It kind of, sort of, melted her heart into a jello.

Somewhere behind her, she heard a painful hiss.

"You mentioned you had to see me?" Twilight asked with a smile as Discord gently put her onto the floor. The creature was looking even worse than before, but also much angrier, and... weaker?

"Indeed. You see- remember when you and your friends trapped me into the stone?"

"Uh... yeah." Twilight sheepishly recalled.

"No, no, that's a good thing memory! Well, back then, I was appalled by the idea that the Elements of Harmony can do such a thing to the all powerful Chaos I love and cherish so very much - NOW, though, I am using the very Elements to defeat this thing here!"

Twilight blinked. "But... you don't have the Elem-"

"Oh, I didn't mean your precious little jewelry. Besides, this is all in my mind, I don't need such things." He chuckled. "First, I went along with my favorite. Laughter." Discord snickered. "So I reminded myself of all the funniest things. Somehow, most of them included your facial expressions."

"Hey!"

"Like that time you almost fell off a cloud and begged me to leave you alone? Oh goodness, you were shrieking so much!" Discord laughed loudly - the Chaotic creature hissed in pain upon hearing it.

"But, I'll leave the description of my wondrous fighting tactics for later - the most important Element has finally arrived and I can finally sent my Chaos back where it came from! Which, in fact, is back to me."

Twilight gave him a strange look. "But, you have your own magic, don't you?"

"If I may quote," Discord returned her with an equally strange look, "All the Elements lead up to the greatest Element of all. And that Element, as powerful as it is, isn't Magic."

Twilight wasn't sure if she heard that correctly. Whatever the case was, she decided to roll with it, because those were the most wonderful words she ever heard him say. She wasn't even aware of the painfully big smile on her face or the happy tears in her eyes.

"So, let's show this awfully un-handsome Me just how I learned to control Chaos"" Discord grinned. Twilight nodded and Discord noticed something; the mischievous smile on her face. Very much like his own.

"Taste the Rainbow, freak!" Discord yelled out happily as he and Twilight both cast their spells - whether Discord or Twilight intended for their ray of powerful magic to really be rainbow colored or not was a mystery - and it hit the creature, engulfing him in the prismatic orb. As that happened, Twilight could hear Discord yelling "ow, ow, ow," constantly.

"Fighting myself was just a bit more painful than I expected!" She heard him shout out jokingly before the whole world of Discord's colorful mind collapsed.


	25. Our Farewell

Twilight jerked and gasped, standing on all four hooves. She was back on her balcony. The horizon was the only place in the sky that wasn't completely dark or covered in stars, marking the first signs of the Sun that would rise in a couple of hours.

Her body was tense and her mind was running, her head bothered by a sudden painful aching caused by all the commotion; but the feeling of utter joy and happiness she felt moments ago as she joined Discord into controlling his Chaotic self was still there. Despite the raging headache, she smiled to herself and for some more time simply stared into the sky until the headache disappeared.

Then suddenly, she jumped up, eager to find the Spirit - even though she had no idea how would she go about the search. It just wasn't a problem right then. Nothing was, she told herself happily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Discord reappeared back in the White Tail forest; the first thing he noticed was that his whole body felt like it was being pricked by countless needles. It prompted the draconequus to rapidly shift, trying to locate the source of the awfully painful feeling, not realizing right away it was the effect of him having used his powers against himself. Sadly, he had forgotten he was on a tree, so he found himself tipping over and soon after, loudly crashed into the ground.

"I'm OK, I'm OK!" He informed the non existent conversationalist before struggling to get his muzzle out of the hole it made in the ground upon the impact of the fall. Once he managed to get himself free, he shook his head violently. The awful feeling in his body finally started to fade away, making him sigh contently.

"Much better." He commented. The Spirit was just standing idly, for a moment or two, regaining his composure. Then, like he knew what to do all along, he transported into Twilight Sparkle's library, right to the spot on front of the fireplace he came to love so dearly. Thinking she was in bed, he was about to climb up the stairs, when a purple blur practically flew down the stairs and knocked him to the floor. All he could hear before his back hit the hard wooden floor was a surprised call for his name. His chest suffered a short lasting, sharp pain as Twilight's hooves pressed him to the hard floor and she spent a few short seconds apologizing until he caught his breath.

Moments passed as both of them just stared, not processing right away that they didn't need to look for each other anymore. Then Twilight squealed in joy, Discord yelped in delight, and they gave each other a firm hug, like two long lost old friends. They stayed like that for a long time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So basically, what you're saying," Twilight started to clarify for herself, "is that your conflicts were so strong and so bothersome for your own well being that they prompted a subconscious spell that sent both of us to your mind?"

"Something along that scenario, yes."

"But why me along with you?"

"Several reasons, I believe." Discord yawned, "One was that you had to do with those conflicts in a lot of ways; but the main reason, I think, was that I needed a... ugh... a friend to help me subdue myself - even though I wasn't aware of that, apparently a subconscious part of me was. As my emotions ran wild, so did my power."

"That makes sense... I think." Twilight shrugged, before drawing another sip of hot chocolate milk from her cup.

The two had been sitting on front of the fireplace, wrapped in a big, fuzzy, warm blanket and discussing what had happened - Twilight had lots of questions considering it was a branch of magic she genuinely knew nothing of, so she asked both questions relevant to the situation and the ones that were purely there to satisfy her curiosity. The Spirit didn't seem to mind answering them, though. He summoned a whole pitcher of warm chocolate milk and some rice cookies for them to munch on as they talked.

Discord had explained to her that, since his powers of Chaos had ran a bit wild back then, she was sent to a small realm of her own, where, as he concluded by what Twilight had told him happened (naturally, she didn't tell him all about the dialogues she had with Pinkie), her own bonds to the Elements of Harmony were tested.

"So what would've happened if I were to, umm... bow to the Chaos, so to speak?" Twilight chuckled.

"Frankly, I am not sure, but my guess is that nothing I couldn't fix would occur." He sneered. Twilight rolled her eyes as he continued: "Most likely, you'd be 'twisted' - the way you and your friends were during my last breakout. Seeing as my many powers were blocked while we wandered my rich fantasy-land, I would probably have to use some more 'mortal-ish' methods to help you."

"Oh, like what?" Twilight took a big gulp from her cup.

"Oh you know, cheesy stuff that appear in fairy tales and such, like umm..." Discord span his finger in air as he tried to remember any, and then snapped them as he continued: "Speeches of our wonderful growing friendship, or memories of good times we had, a true love's kiss, tears of regret..." Discord continued to count the ways, either ignoring or not noticing the baffled Twilight , who nearly spat out the contents of the cup upon hearing the words 'true love's kiss'.

"... or perhaps the self sacrificing act that proves my devotion to magic of friendship, yadda, yadda, yadda, so on and so forth. The list is pretty much endless."

"... so, which method would you pick?"

Twilight had absolutely no idea why she asked that; she knew only that the question posed as a challenge in her head and that her voice was strangely calm, smooth even - and judging by Discord's strange look he gave her, he got it as a challenge as well, as well as caught the change in her voice.

_Did... did I just flirt? Oh, no. Why? Why, why, why oh, by Celestia's mane, why? No seriously, why did I say that? OK, calm down. It is not like he'll notice such a thing. _Twilight took a subtle deep breath; she was expecting Discord to get into a ramble on which method would he chose and the practical advantages of the method.

No such luck.

"... whichever method is most comfortable with me, I'd suppose. That is, whichever method I would enjoy the most." Discord replied slyly, a wide, very wide, semi-familiar smile spreading on his face. There was something in that smile that he knew she was aiming to get out of him. Once again, before her stupid mouth started talking against her will, she asked herself what the heck was she trying to do.

"And which one would that be?"

_Shut up! Shut! UP! What is WRONG with you! This is not how you usually behave! Bad, bad Unicorn! O, what would Celestia say if she saw me right now!_

"Hmm, well, I'd probably have to think about it..." Discord expertly slided one of his arms around her in what she hoped was a friendly manner as she awkwardly glanced at his hand on her shoulder, "but if I were to just- blurt one out, of the top of my head..." Twilight felt her stomach lifting into her throat, "it would probably have to be-"

"Twilight? Is that Discord with you? He is back? Are you OK?" Spike's last question was a bit panicked, as Twilight did tell him bits of what had happened two days ago. The baby dragon was obviously waken up by the sound of their voices.

Twilight never felt more grateful for having that small dragon live with her.

"Spike!" She swiftly got up, feeling both the blanket and Discord's hand sliding off her. "Oh, Spike, we have so much to tell you!"

"Twilight... it's five o'clock in the morning!"

"Well, since you're up already, we might as well start telling you." Twilight insisted despite Spike's groan, that clearly announced he was ready to go back to bed. Still, he himself was curious about what happened, so he shrugged and came down the stairs, taking up a place between Discord and Twilight, much to her relief. Discord didn't seem to take the interruption of the awkward moment in any specific way. That smile was still lingering on his face.

"So, what happened with you guys?"

"Well, it all started quite a while ago, to be honest..."

Twilight and Discord had told Spike everything, about Discord's growing powers, about their fight, about how he ran away and at last about their battle in the realm of Discord's mind. Spike just listened, mostly shocked to hear all of that. Twilight made sure to cover everything so the little dragon wouldn't have to crack his head with questions. By the time she finished her story, the first ray of Sun peeked out on the horizon.

"Wow... so you actually had your original powers all this time? And if you knew better you could at any time totally turn Ponyville once again into the chaos capital of Equestria?"

"Eeyup." Discord replied cheerfully. Spike shook his head.

"Twilight, you need to inform Princess Celestia of this! This is a big progress! I will go right now to make a reservation on the tickets-"

"Slow down, Spike. We'll buy the tickets tomorrow. As well as for my friends. We'll all go to Canterlot and tell the Princesses of what happened - together!" Twilight gave him a smile.

Spike's expression of excitement melted into a friendly smile as he nodded in understanding. "I see... Umm... do you guys want breakfast or something?"

Twilight chuckled. "Oh, it's OK Spike, we're both very tired, too. Just go to sleep - in honor of this event, we'll have a day... or three, off from work."

"Awesome. Well then, good night Twilight, 'Cord." Spike greeted before going up to return to his slumber.

Twilight herself felt quite worn out, so she lied down, warmed by both the fuzzy blanket and thick rug beneath her. She smiled into it.

"What are you so happy about?" She heard the Spirit ask.

"Just... everything." Twilight let out a girly giggled as she further snuggled into the rug. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind and she raised her head abruptly, drawing a confused look from the draconequus.

"I- I never apologized to you properly." She realized, her face once more saddened and ashamed.

"Oh, goodness." Discord chuckled and Twilight felt a bit of warmth climbing into her cheeks.

"What?" She demanded.

"It is all right. Dandy and fabulous. A-OK. Nothing to worry about." He pinched her cheek like she was a small filly and she tore away from him with a clumsy smile.

"I still feel quite guilty, though - I mean you were so angry and... and I did kind of betray you..." She trailed off as she tried her best not to remember that one again. Discord sighed.

"Yes, I was quite, as you say, 'angry', but a draconequus of my greatness realizes that sometimes, just as pure Chaos means constant trouble, Harmony means doom."

"Wait... what do you mean?"

"Well, had you been honest with me back then, I'd either be free and producing Chaos or back in my statue-y form. And I have a feeling you wouldn't like either of those options, while I'd have quite a problem with the latter one."

"Um... no I wouldn't. So what you're trying to say is-"

"Life is a mysterious path, Twilight Sparkle." Discord said wisely, with seriousness he himself probably wasn't aware of. "Had there been only Harmony, with nothing to disrupt it, life wouldn't be worth living. Imagine a predictable existence, where you know exactly what and how and when everything will happen. It would be so-"

"Boring." Twilight ended as realization hit her. The word he had been repeating the most ever since the day she first saw him dancing on her head on those colorful windows of Celestia'a palace. She looked over to him. "You had been present here... even while you were in stone; weren't you?"

The draconequues laughed a mysterious laugh before he descended into the rug much like she did before and closed his eyes.

"Chaos, like Harmony, is a natural force just as much as it is magical. Not easy to subdue, Twilight Sparkle." Was all he said before he drifted off into sleep. Twilight decided not to question that statement as he didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. Not right now or too soon, anyway. So she returned back to snuggling the warm rug and felt the overall warmth putting her slowly to sleep - her skin was warmed by the blanket, but she couldn't tell if her insides were so hot thanks to Discord's chocolate milk or something else.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, Spike had immediately bought eight tickets for Ponyville Express and sent the Princesses a letter to inform them of their urgent arrival. The clock tower didn't even strike noon, and all of them were already riding a train to Canterlot. Twilight didn't want to tell her friends right away what was the matter - in her words, she wanted it to be a surprise for when they all gather together - but she said it was an 'urgent happy occasion'.

Her friends all seemed a bit fidgety and excited - any special news regarding draconequus seemed to have intrigued them greatly.

"So what is this important thing you two must tell us?" Fluttershy decided to try asking. Twilight was about to tell her it was a pleasant surprise, when Pinkie decided to give it a guess.

"Oh, oh, oh!" She raised her hoof as if she wanted to be given permission to speak, but spoke anyway with an excited, wild glint in her eyes: "Are you two finally getting married?"

Discord arched one of his hairy eyebrows and Twilight let out a baffled 'what?' while the rest of them just laughed.

"Oh, I gotta see that!" Applejack exclaimed as she wiped a tear from her eye, hardly catching her breath. Still giggling, Rainbow Dash decided it was time for a 'song'.

"Twilight an' Discord, sittin' in a tree~"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Pinkie finished happily, clapping her hooves. Discord lowered his face into his palms in disbelief, muttering 'mares' silently.

"Rainbow, Pinkie!" Twilight, already crimson in face looked at them in frustration. Pinkie looked confused by the interruption.

"What? It is so CUTE, don't you agree?"

"Urgh!"

Despite the eventfulness of the ride and the jokes they continued to crack, traveling to Canterlot had never been so slow for all of them - even the Spirit, who always had something to entertain himself with and was hard to surprise or excite, was a bit silent in expectation.

Just as the Sun slowly started to head west, they finally reached the capital of Equestria. The citizens gave them strange looks as they made their way to the palace. The surprised guards let the bearers of the Elements and the Lord of Chaos through the palace gates without a word, slightly startled by the unusual sight. Several guards inside nodded to them as they told them they were expected, gesturing for them to follow them. Soon, they were brought before what Twilight recognized as the door to Princess Celestia's chambers.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both in there, sipping tea and awaiting their guests, when Discord barged into the room, prompting Luna to jerk and spill tea all over herself and the rug. Discord laughed loudly, stopping only when Applejack kicked him in the flank and mumbled 'show some respect' - she was obviously not familiar with Discord's behavior around the Princesses.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!" Twilight excitedly hopped to her mentor and affectionately press her cheek against her neck, a hug Celestia eagerly returned. Rarity still had the need to bow before her, even though such formalities were long since needless for them around the Princesses.

"Celly, Lunny!" Discord, most likely for teasing reasons, threw a bunch of flower petals around the room as Celestia rolled her eyes, then pulled both of the royal sisters into a group hug and cried fake tears of happiness. Pressed somewhere into Celestia's fur, Luna let out an audible sigh and a chuckle.

"Same old you, I see." Celestia noticed when he finally allowed them to get free of his crushing hug.

"Not entirely. Did you know I can control the Sun and the Moon again?"

"Very amusing, Discord." Celestia wisely smiled. The smile slid off her face in an instant when dracnequus clicked his finger, and for several moments, day and night rapidly exchanged before returning to normal. Luna seemed quite surprised but didn't seem half as shocked or in panic as Celestia.

"Ho...how...?"

"Oh, don't worry, Princess! It's alright!" Twilight happily interrupted before Celestia had a chance to shower Discord with some royal rage of righteousness. "Please, just sit back and relax - we have quite a story for you!"

Celestia was still under quite a shock - a sight that amused Discord greatly. But she listened to her student and sat down on a nearby cushion, eyeing Discord with quite a careful and observant eye.

"We hear you two have a lot to tell us." Princess Luna finally started as she took a place next to Discord - he wasted no time in giving her an affectionate noogie.

"You have no idea, Princess Luna!" Twilight laughed as she sat down.

Twilight was regularly interrupted by Discord, who was more than eager to tell most of the story to still shocked Celestia - he seemed to enjoy in every surprised look she gave him and in every gasp Luna emitted as he got into it with so much joy that Twilight let him tell the rest. He put on quite a show as he used his magic to portray their little adventure with small replicas of himself and Twilight made of pure, warm light and smoke.

Once the final 'scene' of the story dispersed into nothingness , Discord looked around, with a look of an author expecting his first critics.

A long, weird silence ruled the room. Rainbow Dash looked like she just received a marriage proposal from a Wonderbolt, her thoughts most likely at that moment made of such words as 'awesome' or 'fantastic'. Applejack was half smiling half looking confused, like she wasn't sure what she heard was good or bad or just allover strange. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked genuinely happy about the story, with sensitive Fluttershy even letting out a tear of happiness as they were done speaking. Rarity looked just as much in shock as Celestia was.

"I must admit," Celestia finally spoke, "I did not expect such a development. And not so soon."

"I don't think anyone was." Rainbow Dash added blunty - once again, Applejack's hoof had something to say, thanks to her friend's bluntness.

"Well, I am sitting in the same room with the Lord of Chaos, without having to worry about Equestria being turned upside down... it is something I'll hardly get used to." Celestia finally gave away a smile. Next to her, Luna simply looked content, not overly surprised or shocked at all.

"Indeed, I gave Celly enough trouble back when she was young." Discord sneered. "I might use this to my advantage. It'll be so much fun to stress you out everyday."

"Oh stop it, you." Twilight scolded him cheerfully. The two laughed. Pretty much everypony in the room looked at them weirdly.

"You two resemble an pair of very old friends." Celestia noticed, a hint of pride in her voice. "I can not even express my amazement, with both of you. To think that Discord, our ages old enemy agreed it was time for truce... to think my student successfully showed him why it is worth it... I can't be more proud of you two." She gave them a soft smile.

Twilight looked as flattered as any time Celestia would say something like that, while Discord simply rolled his eyes - he himself though, had trouble with keeping the happy smile off his face.

"So, my protegé, do you have a friendship report for me?" Celestia suddenly asked. Twilight at first blinked, then thought about it for a short moment of two and smiled.

"Dear Princess Celestia..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was already night when mostly empty Ponyville Express rushed back towards its home with six ponies and a draconequus sharing a wagon, most of them either sleeping or about to fall victim to the land of dreams. The rest of the visit to Princess Celestia was mostly spent in celebrating - Celestia decided they should all stay for dinner and Pinkie Pie deemed it a perfect opportunity for a party, thus starting the wackiest party inside of royal castle of Canterlot that was crashed by few guards and a few of royal advisers - apparently, partying hard was something they were new to, and they found themselves absolutely loving it.

Twilight was still awake, though. Despite the overall awesomeness of the day, her mind was running and she couldn't stop thinking about the future with a heavy heart. Looking over to the sleeping draconequus, who found it very comfortable to sleep upside down on the train seat, she wondered what was he going to do now. His number one purpose when staying with her was simply to learn. Like he did all this time, slowly, day by day.

So what to do with all the knowledge he gained?

Deep inside, the selfish, 'overly attached' side of her as she called it, wanted him to stay with her in her library. Surrounded by books he mostly found boring and definitely not wanting to be her 'assisstant', Twilight had no idea what he would do, but she knew that one thing - she wanted him to stay.

The rational side of her knew better.

"I am going to miss you so much, aren't I?" Twilight whispered quietly. She jerked when the Spirit snorted in his sleep, for a moment frightened he might've heard her. She was happy to have gotten that out though, even with the risk of him hearing it.

_Oh well,_ Twilight decided as she too, closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep, _we had some wonderful time together... a few months? Was it only a few months? Goodness... feels like years... and years... _

Twilight drifted off into a light nap filled with pages and pages of her poorly filled diary, all of them dated the same, to that long, practically forgotten day when she wrote those silly, filly-aged words into her diary. Those stupid words she never thought she was going to remember with an ache in her heart.

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"Twilight?" Discord called for the mare as he peeked out from upstairs. Twilight was in the library, indulged into some new book she borrowed almost a week ago, while they were visiting the Princesses.

Life was pretty much... well, perfect from that day on, for everypony.

Discord enjoyed his now full array of powers to the max, occasionally bringing back the old tricks such as cotton candy storms (he called it an upgrade) and sometimes not being able to help himself but to do something on a more "menacing" scale, but in the end, he'd always make things right again, thus not really bothering anypony. More than anything, he seemed to have enjoyed 'decorating' Ponyville with weird but not at all harmful things; like over sized, huge flowers that showered upon Ponyville with colorful bubbles or turning the fountain water into green colored soda and clogging it so for the whole day ponies would walk around with sticky hooves.

Though, once, he ran a little overboard and turned most of the little town into a huge amusement park for one whole day. While it did get in the way of most ponies' jobs, those same ponies decided to take a day off upon seeing the perks of it. He was asked, however, by many of he citizens, not to do that too often, as it would interfere with their chores too much. It was nice seeing the draconequus agree with them instead of turning them into inanimate objects.

Every single evening, though, Discord would settle down - somewhat - and to Twilight's surprise, read a few books. They all had to do, as she noticed, with either history or geography. He never read them too long, only checking a few interesting chapters or facts he was curious about. Twilight wondered what was that reading all about... until today.

She didn't seem to pay too much attention to him, her thought too much into the contents in the book as she mumbled a lazy: "Hmm?"

"I think I'll be leaving soon your lovely home soon."

After a few seconds, which was how long it took her to register his words, Twilight lifted the head out of her book. The Spirit stared at her a bit excited, like he just realized what his true call in life was.

"Leave?" She repeated hollowly. She cleared her throat in an attempt to prepare her voice better and shaped a polite and curious: "What for?"

"To travel." The draconequus readily replied as he gazed out the window, looking almost nostalgic. "Meet the world while it is not under my chaotic influence. Meet the ponies from all over. Perhaps find a random draconequus nest as I do and visit others like me - though I'm fairly sure none of them are as amusing." The draconequus playfully noted. "I just know there's a whole new world waiting to be discovered out there, someplace where nopony has ever even stepped close to; and who better to do that, but me! I could actually be of use to the community, so to speak. After all, I can't simply dilly dally all my eternal life in your library, now can I?" He snickered.

Twilight could her her heart drumming in her ears.

"Uh... no, no you can't. You're right, Discord. You should definitely do it! I'm so happy you found something you want to do!" Her voice got strong and cheerful as she got up to approach him, a sincere smile on her face.

"Really? You think so?" Discord looked even more excited than before.

"Definitely!" Twilight said, firmly believing it was something the draconequus needed to do - he was a curious, hyper creature, after all! He shouldn't waste a day more here! If he was so interested in the outside world, heck, he should definitely explore it! "Learning is the mother of good ideas, and if you want to learn of the world, what better way but to explore it yourself!"

"I know, right? I mean, I never actually traveled around with a purpose! It'll be so much fun!" He shook his hand in joy, like a little filly.

"You'll see the world you never got to see before! In fact, how about we celebrate this in the evening, with a nice, big dinner? Then already tomorrow in the morning, you can go on your journey! I'll even provide you with my own map! Treat it carefully though, it took me ages to make it."

"Excellent! I shall pack my magicks and your precious map and be on my way first thing in the morning!" Discord exclaimed joyfully. "I don't know when was the last time I was so excited about something!" He admitted, a childish smile on his face.

"Great - so go for it! Who knows, one day, when you accrue enough knowledge, you may even be deemed a great pony in the eyes of all the citizens of Equestria! And then when you come back, we can try and do a research together o-or maybe e-ev-en write a re-port to P-P-Princess... Cel-estia..."

Twilight couldn't hold it in. She should've known she couldn't. With the last restrain of hers disappearing as she imagined working on something she cherished so much with somepony she cherished so much, she cried. She didn't wail or cry out, yell or even try to hide her tears. She simply cried, unable to speak, an occasional wince or sniff being the only sounds coming from her along with numerous tears.

Without a sound, Discord picked her up into a gentle hug. No words needed to be said. Just as their reunion after their adventure in realm of Discord's mind was followed by a long lasting hug as they expressed their joy over the happy ending they came to, the two had shared a heart ripping moment as they decided it was the time to say goodbye.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That evening, Twilight, with help of Spike, prepared dinner. To hear she prepared food, even with help, was close to a miracle for Discord, so he enjoyed her meal much more than he would summoning his own. The three stayed up long into the night, especially once Spike learned he was leaving. Though happy for him and the fact he wanted to do something other than just have fun with troublesome powers and antics, he instantly expressed sadness, saying he'll miss him being around very much. To say Discord was surprised by such an expression of fondness coming from Spike, would be an understatement. When he questioned how was it that he came to care for him that much, Spike shrugged and said:

"I dunno. I guess... You just feel like family at this point, really."

To show his gratitude, Discord summoned him a shiny, heart shaped diamond as a parting gift.

Even though Spike went to bed early, Discord and Twilight were awake for a bigger part of night; just talking and peacefully playing Chess Mess. While it was as confusing, messy and fun as it was before, none of them were acting too amused about the game.

Twilight wasn't sure since when did she have so much to talk about with him, but now that he was leaving, this was her last chance. And judging by the fact he never once seemed bored during the course of evening, she took it as a sign that he too didn't mind spending their last evening together like that.

And it meant a world to her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twilight felt a fuzzy, big lion paw shaking her gently. She didn't want to wake up. Not yet. Well, not until he shook her again. The feeling of that soft paw was so nice and familiar.

As he shook her again, Twilight finally gave in and yawned, blinking rapidly as she opened her eyes.

"Goodness... is it morning already?"

"Eeyup!" Discord grinned. "I'm going on the road!"

"... you'll be flying and/or transporting." Twilight noted.

"Well, you know what I mean." He grinned. While Twilight went up to the bathroom to make herself presentable, Discord summoned them a modest breakfast, like he knew she wasn't too hungry that early morning.

Afterwards, they climbed up to the bedroom. Breathing in deeply, Discord opened the window and observed the world he was about to fly off into. Everything was covered in a thin layer of snow and it sparkled beautifully in the sunrise. The excitement on his face was obvious.

"... so... you're leaving." Twilight made an obvious statement. He didn't linger on it, though.

"Sure am."

Twilight gulped. "Well... have a nice trip. Don't be a stranger." She laughed, knowing he was going to be gone for a long time.

"Come on, it'll be, what...a few months before we see each other? I mean, I do have a lot of exploring to do."

"True - Equestria itself is rather big; I can't even imagine what miracles you might discover outside. Even you'll have to travel for quite a while before reaching its borders."

"Indeed. Well, how about we make a compromise; as soon as I start missing you guys so much that it becomes unbearable, I'm coming back. Sounds good?"

"Sounds awesome." She confirmed. Twilight wasn't sure whether to say it or not, but she found herself speaking anyway: "...we will miss you, you know. We all will."

"Ah... well, while I am not the one for cheesy moments, this old draconequus here is friendly enough to admit hewill miss you all as well." Discord said after a moment of stunned silence. He probably wasn't used to be being missed.

"That's so sweet of you. Too bad everypony else is still asleep, they would probably love to bid you goodbye. Especially Pinkie Pie."

"I am not one for tear-jerking goodbyes, really; so I prefer it this way, if you don't mind."

"Oh, of course."

The two fell silent and stared each other in awkward silence; even Discord looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Well... I'll see you around, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you... you know; for everything." He vaguely showed around the room with his hands, but Twilight knew what it meant - for welcoming him here, for being his friend... for accepting him.

"Don't mention it. And... well, thank you also."

"Me?" The draconequus let out a confused, shaky laugh. "For what? What in the world did I do?"

"For being a good friend and a good person." Twilight said like it was obvious, smiling happily.

"A good pers- now you're totally overdoing it." He waved his mismatched hands at her dismissively.

Twilight remained stubborn. "I mean every word of it." She replied with a pout.

He laughed once again. "Well, thank you, again. I just don't seem to be leaving, am I?"

A snicker. "Not yet, no."

"... OK, I am ready now. For real this time."

"Alright. Take care, Discord."

"See you later, egghead."

The two shared another short hug, before he climbed the window sill and flew over the Ponyville and towards the tops of the trees of White Tail forest.

In the early morning, on a particularly sunny day, Discord had left Twilight Sparkle alone in her library to explore the world.

Surprising herself, Twilight didn't shed any tears anymore. If anything, she was happy. Her friend and not-so-undefined-crush-anymore was off to do something he never even knew he wanted to do. Perhaps he was even going to make a dream or two come true on his journey. Who was Twilight to say that she wasn't glad for him? Heck if he didn't leave by himself despite his want to discover the world, she would kick him out if necessary!

After all, that's what friends are for.


	26. Oh, the posibilities

**This is the final chapter, peeps. Short and to the point.**

**Hope you enjoyed the ride. :)**

**-Klab**

* * *

><p>"Twilight!"<p>

"Waaah!" Twilight Sparkle jumped at the familiar voice that nearly prompted her to lose control of her magic and put the book she was reading on fire. She looked towards the window, eyeing the Spirit that stood upon its sill; his long body was too much for the tiny window, so he was bent in half. Twilight put a hoof to her heart, feeling its strong beat.

"Discord- I- you- for goodness' sake, you scared me to half to death!" She exclaimed, trying to calm down. Discord didn't seem to pay any attention to her rushing heartbeat as he waved his hands, trying to grab her attention. "What are you doing here anyway? Did you forget something?

"Twilight, I have something urgent to say!"

"Yes, yes well, what is it?" Twilight demanded, her voice cracked from the shock the Spirit gave her. She levitated the book in front of herself, half trying to continue reading and half listening to him.

Discord paused for a bit, weighing his words and breathing heavily as if he just ran a mare-a-thon. "Remember how I said I'll be back when missing you guys becomes simply unbearable?"

"Yeah?" Twilight carefully replied. Discord took another huge breath before finally blurting out:

"Well, guess what? I missed you. So much that I couldn't stop thinking of it and flied head first into a tree. I can not even think what will happen to me when I start missing others as well. Who knows, it might even kill me at some point."

The book fell to the floor with a silent, soft 'thud'.

"Whoa there Missy, your book will get injured that way. Isn't that what you've been trying to avoid since the day you first read one?"

Only then did the Spirit notice Twilight's awkward facial expression. He stared at her for the longest time before rolling his eyes and then saying, more to himself than to her:

"Oh for goodness sake, do I need to spell it out to you? So Bothersome, you and you mares in general. What is up with that look? I mean, OK fine, I missed you, you don't have to get all weird, staring at me like that. Stop it. Stop it, I said!"

"Discord, you've barely been gone for... an hour."

"And I nearly died!" Discord admitted, the fact he just confessed it frustrating him greatly. "I missed you so much, I though I was going to-"

His mouth was shut as Twilight threw herself at his face, hugging it for dear life. He couldn't help but to smile a bit mischievously.

"Oh, so you catch my drift." He managed to mumble through a face crushing hug. The mare laughed almost without control, her cheek plastered firmly to his like it was the last time she was ever going to see him - or, on the contrary, like he just returned from the overly long trip.

"I missed you so, so, so much, too!" Twilight exclaimed, parting for a moment with his face to give it another good look. Then, as if that was what she had planned on doing all along, she gave him a big smooch on the muzzle.

The Spirit wasn't horrified - at least not in the negative way - by that cute display of love, but it was easy to say he was genuinely surprised, if not even embarrassed. Twilight Sparkle looked a bit expectant, but other than that she flushed to the very roots of her mane. Seeing as he didn't say anything, she was prepared to go into an apologetic fit, when he suddenly complained:

". . . That's not fair!"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"I was supposed to do that first!"

"W-wha?"

"I'm the guy! Guys always do it first!"

The childish tone of her voice was just too much. Despite all of her efforts not to laugh, Twilight burst into a laughing fit that made the draconequus flush.

"What's so funny? What? WHAT?"

Be it the sheer happiness of the moment, or the utterly childish behavior of the draconequus, Twilight couldn't stop laughing.

She had a feeling she never would from now on.

"Twilight?" Spike descended down the stairs, finding Twilight in the library. "Was that Discord here just now? I thought I heard his voice, but I was too laz- I mean tired, to get up."

"Yes, he was Spike." Twilight confirmed, sitting on the window sill and reading a book.

"Didn't he leave several hours ago, while I was sleeping?"

"He came back; he forgot something." She quickly said. "Also, he decided he'll start with shorter journeys, so we can expect him to stop by next weekend. Good thing I didn't invite everyone for a tearful goodbye, huh?"

"Oh wow, that's great! I really started missing him already - it is too quiet without him around."

"Yes, indeedy-o!" Twilight chirped. Spike looked at her awkwardly, for a moment worrying she was sick or something.

"What kind of language is that? And what are you smiling so widely about? And why in the world are you sitting on a window?"

"Oh it's nothing~"

"Did you just sing-alonged? What's the matter with you? Look at you, you're beaming!" Spoke chuckled in disbelief as he pointed out her features. Twilight laughed.

"I guess today was a good day. Or should I say, a good morning?" She hinted. Spike's eyes widened.

"What happened? Oh please, Twilight, tell me, tell me!" He demanded with an excited grin, but Twilight shook her head as she smiled mysteriously.

"Well, I'm not really comfortable telling it to you this way, alone. I'll tell you next weekend."

"... you mean when Discord gets back?"

"Insightful one, aren't you?" Twilight feigned surprise and laughed before trotting off into the kitchen to get a snack. Spike just stared after her before swiftly leaving the library. The thought of what might've happened between the two was simply crazy... impossible... utterly and undeniably Chaotic!

It was a gossip.

"Oh, Rarity is going to love this."

**The End**


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